BASF has completed the carve-out of its mobile emissions catalysts and precious metal services businesses and named the separate legal entity BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions (ECMS). The company’s intention to carve out the entity was first announced in December 2021 with an expected completion timeframe of 18 months. (Earlier post.)

ECMS has global operations in 15 countries with more than 4,500 employees and 20 production sites. As a standalone entity, ECMS operates its own legal entities, IT system landscape and services independently. The ECMS business will continue to be reported as part of the Catalysts division in the Surface Technologies segment.

ECMS is a global leader in emissions catalysts and produces mobile emission catalysts for gasoline, diesel and off-road vehicles, motorcycles, small engines and other applications. It is also a prominent supplier of precious metal products, trading and services and is the largest recycler of precious metals from spent automotive catalysts.

The entity’s urban mine refines platinum group metals (PGMs) containing materials to a purity exceeding commercial grade industry standards that are fed back into manufacturing of new automotive and chemical catalysts. The recycling of precious metals emits 97% less CO₂ than refining primary—or mined— PGMs.

ECMS’s pursuit of growth areas includes further development of precious metals recycling and catalysts-based products and services on both ends of the hydrogen economy value chain —hydrogen production via water electrolysis and hydrogen use in fuel cell electric vehicles. The team is also working on next-generation electrocatalysts that enable construction of even better electrolyzers and, as a result, bring down the costs of green hydrogen production.