The production of Neolyse Ibbenbüren GmbH, a joint venture of Akzo Nobel Specialty Chemicals and Evonik Industries AG at the Akzo Nobel site in Ibbenbüren (Germany), is off to a successful start. The plant with its state-of-the-art membrane technology has an annual capacity of 120,000 t of potassium hydroxide solution and 75,000 t of chlorine and hydrogen. Operated by Akzo Nobel, the facility strengthens the respective leading positions of both companies. Akzo Nobel commercialises chlorine and hydrogen, while Evonik distributes the locally produced potassium hydroxide solution and processes parts of it into other products such as potassium carbonate, potassium bicarbonate and potassium formate at its Lülsdorf site.
“The Ibbenbüren facility sets a completely new standard for the chlor-alkali industry,” said Werner Fuhrmann, Chairman of the Akzo Nobel Specialty Chemicals Executive Board, during the official opening ceremony of the new facility. “It enables us to secure the supply of our customers in the long term while further improving our company’s sustainability profile and operational efficiency.”
The new production process at the site improves the ecological footprint of every metric ton of chlorine produced in Ibbenbüren by 25 to 30 %, resulting in lower energy consumption and fewer CO2 emissions. “We demonstrated throughout the course of the project that two experienced partners can contribute their diverse experience to intelligently shape their business environment. We complement each other very well and look forward to continuing our collaboration, which benefits our customers and therefore ultimately also the market for potassium hydroxide,” noted Dr. Harald Schwager, Deputy Chairman of the Evonik Executive Board, on the occasion of opening the plant.
