Heraeus Precious Metals, a leading company in the precious metals industry, has been awarded first place in the prestigious German Award for Sustainability Projects 2024 (Deutscher Award für Nachhaltigkeitsprojekte 2024). With its project, the development of the world's first electric chamber furnace, the company is setting new standards in sustainable precious metal recycling.
The German Award for Sustainability Projects honors companies and organizations that promote sustainable projects and are committed to the environment and society. It is awarded under the patronage of Brigitte Zypries, former Federal Minister of Economics, by the German Institute for Service Quality in co-operation with the news channel ntv and the DUP Unternehmer. Taking into account the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, a renowned jury from business, science and politics honors the best projects in 29 categories.
Heraeus Precious Metals won in the ‘Technology - Energy’ category with its innovation, the world's first electrically powered chamber furnace for precious metal recycling. Until now, chamber furnaces, in which materials containing precious metals are thermally processed have been heated with fossil fuels. Together with a manufacturer, the project team has developed an electrically powered chamber furnace, thereby significantly reducing the dependence of recycling processes on natural gas. In addition, around 60 percent of the energy used can be recovered via the connected exhaust gas treatment. In total, around 570 tons of CO2e and 2.25 million kilowatt hours of energy are saved each year. The furnace is currently being built and is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2024.
"The award reinforces our sustainability efforts and our goal of eliminating the use of fossil fuels by 2033. With the world's first electric chamber furnace for precious metal recycling, we have reached a significant milestone on this path,” emphasizes Svea Scherleithner, Global Head of Sustainability. “The chamber furnace is a pilot project that we want to transfer to our sites worldwide.”
The award-winning project is part of Heraeus Precious Metals' global action plan. The company has set itself the goal of reaching net zero and completely eliminating the use of fossil fuels by 2033. Today, over 55 percent of the company’s global electricity consumption already comes from renewable sources. This figure is set to rise to 100 per cent by 2025. Heraeus Precious Metals has thus committed itself to one of the most ambitious climate programs in the industry and is striving to play a pioneering role in the entire precious metals industry.
A total of 342 companies and their projects were nominated for the German Award for Sustainability Projects 2024, 70 of which convinced the jury. Patron Brigitte Zypries, former Federal Minister of Justice and Federal Minister of Economics, emphasized: ‘The winners of the award exemplify the sustainable commitment of German companies at all levels. The award will hopefully also inspire other companies and institutions to take the necessary steps towards sustainability with determination."
