De Nora invests in AZUL Energy

Synergy between De Nora and AZUL Energy to explore new non-noble metal product strategies

Tokyo, 6/30/2021 – De Nora, a global provider of innovative technologies and solutions for industrial electrochemical processes, has acquired a minority stake in AZUL Energy, a Japanese start-up focused on the development of high-performance materials and products based on non-noble metals, and will pursue R&D projects. The move is the result of a broader project that De Nora had been working on for more than a year, to create a sustainable and equally high-performing alternative to the expensive noble metals used in its proprietary coatings. De Nora’s search for new catalyst solutions, based on non-noble metals for its industrial applications, took a positive turn when it met AZUL Energy. The deal with AZUL Energy was officially signed and announced in Tokyo on June 30.

The metal-organic catalysis technology of AZUL Energy is of great interest to De Nora,” says Paolo Dellachà, CEO De Nora. “This technology has proven to have performances very close to more established technologies based on noble metals, and still superior to those of products that do not use precious metals such as Iridium, Ruthenium, and Rhodium, to name the ones more under price pressure.”

This new investment will allow De Nora to contribute to the development of AZUL Energy’s research lines, addressing them to applications closer to industrial electrolysis (water electrolysis).

“Researchers and business developers are all involved in the creation of a Joint Technical Committee, to establish a pipeline of projects that will be carried in the coming years, to accelerate innovation and gradually replace noble metals in De Nora's portfolio products.” – comments Paolo Dellachà.

About De Nora

De Nora is a global supplier of innovative technologies and solutions and is recognized as a partner of choice for important industrial electrochemical processes. Since its foundation in 1923, De Nora is driven by the philosophy of continual improvement by way of developing and manufacturing electrodes and electrochemical systems. The Company offers advanced disinfection and filtration technologies to solve problems related to municipal and industrial water treatment. De Nora is committed to the development of unconventional solutions to achieve energy transition to decarbonization and clean water for everyone. Worldwide over 1,600 employees work together dynamically, sharing knowledge to achieve a sustainable future.

About AZUL Energy

AZUL Energy is a Japanese start-up company founded in July 2019 with the support of the Tohoku University Business Incubation Program (BIP). The company developed new catalysts that can be mass-produced at low cost to replace rare metals used as catalysts for fuel cells and for "Metal-Air batteries" to generate electricity from oxygen in the air.