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Representatives from BASF, Heraeus, and Dushan Port Economic Development Zone in Jiaxing pose for a photo after inking a cooperation agreement on Feb 11. [Photo/cnjxol.com]

Two Global Fortune 500 companies – German-based BASF and Heraeus – inked a cooperation agreement with Dushan Port Economic Development Zone in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province on Feb 11 to build a company for the recovery and reuse of platinum group metals (PGMs) in the zone.

Construction of the project, which represents an investment of about $75 million and has a registered capital of $25 million, will commence this year. It is expected to begin operating by the end of 2023.

PGMs are mainly used in the automobile, chemical, electronic, and hydrogen energy industries. China relies heavily on PGM imports as the nation faces a lack of such resources. One way to obtain PGMs is to recycle them from waste.

Compared with mineral metals, recycled PGMs are more environmentally friendly as the recycling process can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent.

The PGM project in Dushan Port Economic Development Zone is expected to offer high-purity PGMs that reduce China's dependence on imported PGMs.

The project is the second in the zone by BASF. The company's first project is its surface treatment material plant which started operating in 2021. The plant has an annual production capacity of 890 million metric tons.

In recent years, Dushan Port Economic Development Zone has ramped up efforts to optimize its business environment and improve its infrastructure. In addition to BASF and Heraeus, the zone has attracted a group of other Global Fortune 500 companies including Adeka, Clariant, and Allnex.