Covestro technology named among German Innovation Award 2020 Finalists – EPPM

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Design in Design Innovation | 0 Comments

Among numerous innovative projects and business models, the German Innovation Award jury has honoured Covestro as one of three finalists in the ‘Major Companies’ category for the development of a new technology for chlorine production.

Covestro technology named among German Innovation Award 2020 Finalists

Energy saving chlorine production of Covestro

The award honours outstanding, groundbreaking innovations developed by German companies, and awarded under the patronage of the Federal Ministry of Economics.

Covestro CTO Dr Klaus Schäfer said. “We have made the leap into the group of the best which comprises a large, strong field. This nomination … reflects the high level of our innovative strength and the outstanding expertise and engagement of our employees, who made this success possible in the first place.”

The ODC process replaces the usual hydrogen-producing electrode with an oxygen depolarized cathode. This suppresses the formation of hydrogen, leaving only chlorine and caustic soda lye. What’s so special about this process is that the voltage required is only about two volts instead of three.

Energy consumption and CO2 emissions are thus reduced by up to 25 per cent, meaning that the constantly growing demand for the basic chemical chlorine can be met in a much more resource- and environmentally friendly way than before. And that’s not all: with the same plant size, the new process can produce about 30 percent more chlorine. Worldwide, about 80 million tons of chlorine is currently produced annually. If this were to be based entirely on ODC technology, some 35 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved each year.

At the same time, the potential of this technology extends far beyond the production of chlorine: it can also be used, for example, in stationary energy storage systems, for enhanced power generation from hydrogen or for decentralised water treatment.

Covestro uses ODC technology in a chlorine production plant in Krefeld-Uerdingen and is currently constructing the first large-scale production plant based on ODC technology at its Spanish site in Tarragona.