Page 167 - CW E-Magazine (11-2-2025)

News from Abroad News from Abroad

CRITICAL MINERALS cattle by up to 90%. CH4 Global said to reduce methane emissions from
LKAB begins work on demo plant for processing its EcoPark facility in Louth Bay, South cattle, and our cost effi ciencies mean
farmers can now realise a net economic
Australia, is based on an innovative
phosphorus and rare earth elements in Sweden pond-based cultivation system which is benefi t while signifi cantly reducing
projected to lower production costs to
their carbon footprint. This is how you
as little as one-tenth of those of conven- drive rapid adoption of climate solu-
Swedish government owned mining LKAB has applied to make the iron tional tank-based methods. tions.”
fi rm, LKAB, has commenced ore mine in Gällivare, the planned in-
construction of a demonstration plant dustrial park in Luleå and a new iron This will help the company offer The EcoPark’s design addresses
for processing phosphorus and rare ore deposit (Per Geijer) in Kiruna, its Methane Tamer – which suppress- major scaling challenges that have
earth elements in Luleå (Sweden). The which contains high levels of rare earth es methane production in cattle – at a historically limited Asparagopsis pro-
facility is the fi rst in a planned indus- elements and phosphorus, as ‘Strategic price point that ensures profi tability demand from CH4 Global’s existing duction. While competing approaches
trial park and marks an important step Projects’ under the EU’s Critical Raw throughout the agricultural value chain commercial partners in Australia and rely on either ocean harvesting with
in the company’s ambition to diversify Materials Act. without relying on subsidies, said beyond. With additional investment, high variability or expensive indoor
its business with new minerals through the company’s CEO and co-founder the facility could eventually expand to tanks, CH4 Global’s system delivers
improved resource utilisation. the industrial park’s production is estimated “Thanks to our successful explora- Dr. Steve Meller. 500 ponds that produce enough Aspara- consistent, high-quality production
to meet approximately seven times tion efforts, we see enormous potential gopsis to serve hundreds of thousands at a fraction of the cost. The EcoPark
LKAB plans to start extracting cri- Sweden’s needs and six percent of the in continuing to develop the technology, The EcoPark’s initial phase includes of cattle per day. opening comes as global pressure inten-
tical minerals from the existing iron ore EU’s demand for phosphorus in agri- aiming to extract phosphorus and 10 large-scale cultivation ponds with a sifi es to reduce agricultural methane
mine in Gällivare (Sweden) by estab- culture. Currently, there is no mining of rare earth elements from other miner- combined capacity of 2-million litres, “With the EcoPark, CH4 Global emissions, which account for roughly
lishing a new processing plant for apa- rare earth elements in Europe. alisations as well. The results from the able to produce more than 80 metric now has more production capacity than 30% of human-driven methane output.
tite (phosphate mineral). This involves plant, together with the environmental tons of Asparagopsis annually. Over all other producers combined, putting CH4 Global estimates that if Methane
utilising material streams from iron ore Earlier in October last year, LKAB’s permit for the industrial park, will form the next year, the facility will expand to us in a unique position to meet grow- Tamer were adopted by just 10% of the
production that are currently treated board had decided to invest app- the basis for future decisions on scaling 100 ponds capable of producing enough ing market demand,” Dr. Meller added. world’s cattle, it would deliver climate
as waste. The apatite concentrate from roximately 800-mn SEK ($72-mn) in up production. The ambition is to se- Asparagopsis to serve 45,000 cattle per “The simple fact is that natural Aspara- benefi ts equivalent to removing 100
Gällivare will then be transported to establishing the demonstration plant, cure the substantial expansion opportu- day – a signifi cant step toward meeting gopsis is the safest, most effective way million cars from the road.
the planned industrial park in Luleå, which is planned to be operational in nities we foresee step by step, with the
where LKAB will produce rare earth 2026. The aim was for verifying and Per Geijer deposit in Kiruna playing a SUSTAINABLE CLEANING SOLUTIONS
elements, phosphorus for mineral ferti- developing the process required for the crucial role,” said Mr. Jan Moström, Nouryon achieves ISCC PLUS certifi cation at green
lisers, and gypsum as a by-product for extraction of phosphorus and rare earth President and CEO of LKAB.
the construction industry. elements. Through a stepwise expan- chelates facility in the Netherlands
sion, the operations can then be scaled At the end of 2023, LKAB’s mine-
“By extracting these critical mine- up with additional processing facilities ral resources of REE oxides (Rare Nouryon, the Dutch speciality
rals, LKAB can make better use of over time, aiming for full operation Earth Oxides) in the Per Geijer deposit chemicals fi rm, announced that it is
the material we already mine and during the 2030s. The demonstration amounted to approximately 1.7-million now certifi ed to the International Sus-
strengthen our future competitiveness, plant currently under construction will tons in situ, making it one of Europe’s tainability and Carbon Certifi cation
while also improving security of sup- also serve as a R&D centre, providing largest deposits of rare earth elements. standard ISCC PLUS at its site in Herken-
ply and preparedness in Europe,” said an opportunity to explore and develop The deposit is primarily an iron ore bosch, the Netherlands. The certifi ca-
Mr. Jan Moström, President and CEO future potential sources for further deposit with high concentrations of both tion covers the use of biobased and/or
of LKAB. Once fully operational, refi nement. phosphorus and rare earth elements. bio-circular feedstocks to produce bio-
PCATTLE FEED SUPPLEMENT degradable chelates with up to 100%
renewable carbon index (RCI).
CH4 Global’s commercial-scale Asparagopsis The company’s biodegradable che-

facility to aid livestock methane reduction efforts lates are designed to enhance the per- able ingredient solutions to our custo- growing need in the cleaning industry
mers in the household and industrial & for more natural ingredients, result-
formance of auto-dishwashing, liquid institutional cleaning markets,” said ing in lower carbon footprints. Lead-
US-based CH4 Global said it has weed-based methane reduction acces- whole, dried Asparagopsis seaweed for laundry detergents, household cleaners, Mr. Brad Pearson, Vice President of ing cleaning product formulators have
begun production at the “world’s fi rst” sible and economically viable for the livestock methane reduction. The com- as well as industrial & institutional Cleaning Goods at Nouryon. committed to be net zero by 2040, and
commercial-scale ‘EcoPark’ facility global livestock industry. pany’s cattle feed supplement, Methane cleaning products. Nouryon technologies provide our custo-
for growing Asparagopsis, marking Tamer, leverages Asparagopsis to “Having the option to deliver fully mers options to achieve this goal,” he
a major step forward in making sea- CH4 Global is focused on using reduce enteric methane emissions in “We are pleased to offer more sustain- biobased chelating agents supports a added.

166 Chemical Weekly February 11, 2025 Chemical Weekly February 11, 2025 167

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