Heraeus Precious Metals
Heraeus Precious Metals is a global leader in the precious metals business, covering the full value chain of all eight precious metals. Its innovative products are essential for a broad range of industries, including the automotive, chemicals, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, hydrogen, and jewelry industries. The company is the world’s largest recycler and refiner of precious metals and a leading name in industrial precious metals trading. With a network of 15 locations spanning across the US, Europe, Africa, India, and Asia, Heraeus Precious Metals ensures that its products and services are readily available wherever and whenever customers need them.
Precious Metals are indispensable for modern life, and they enable technological transformation and innovation needed for a more sustainable world. Heraeus Precious Metals’ business and its encompassing product portfolio harness the unique properties of precious metals while making substantial and sustainable impact on the environment.
For example, many chemical reactions are carried out with the help of precious metal catalysts. They help to clean exhaust air in engines or industrial processes and reduce N2O emissions in fertilizer production processes. Heraeus Precious Metals’ catalysts also play a key role in the production of green hydrogen with PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolysis. They require 90% less precious metal loading, thereby drastically reducing the needed amount of the scarce precious metal iridium. Highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs), which include platinum, are the key compounds for chemotherapies to defeat cancer. The antimicrobial technology AGXX helps to prevent the spread of dangerous germs and economic damages caused by biocorrosion. For the jewelry industry, Heraeus Precious Metals supplies high-quality precious metal materials and alloys that exceed the quality and service standards of the most demanding customers.
In addition, Heraeus Precious Metals offers precious metals in physical form or through accounts, price risk management and financing services. As companies requiring precious metals are exposed to volatile and unpredictable prices, severe fluctuations can affect their margins, capital requirements, and competitiveness. Heraeus Precious Metals has comprehensive expertise in helping its customers manage these risks in all major time zones.
Most precious metals are very scarce, so it is essential to keep them in the economic cycle by systematically recovering them from end-of-life materials. Heraeus Precious Metals recycles all eight precious metals as well as rhenium and continuously improves processes to maximize the amount of precious metals recovered.
The extraction and processing of precious metals are very energy and carbon intensive. Heraeus Precious Metals is pioneering ahead: by 2025, it will be the first company in the precious metals industry to operate carbon neutral and be net zero by 2033.
