Yara acquires SCR system producer

Yves Bonte

JANUARY 15, 2014 — Oslo headquartered Yara International ASA (OSE: YAR) has acquired Germany’s H+H Umwelt-und-Industrietechnik GmbH, a leading producer of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems for secondary NOx reduction in marine and stationary engines.

Senior Vice-President and Head of Yara’s Industrial Segment Yves Bonte says the deal is a “major milestone in Yara’s strategy to offer a total NOx emissions control package for industrial plants, ships and heavy-duty vehicles.”

The market for shipboard SCR systems is set to grow as increasingly stringent emissions limits come into force in ECAs (emission control areas) under new IMO regulations.

With the H+H acquisition, Yara will become the only company able to produce both major secondary NOx after-treatment equipment – plus the chemical reagents needed to operate them. In addition to Yara’s existing position in SNCR (selective non-catalytic reduction) technology, the company is complementing its portfolio with the other major after-treatment technology, SCR. that reduces emissions to air by over 90%. Such technology developments come on top of Yara’s position as a major producer and supplier of urea and ammonia, the nitrogen based reagents used for NOx reduction.

Yara says that compact and fuel efficient, SCR systems are able to achieve more than a 90% reduction in NOx emissions with no increase in fuel consumption or reduction in engine performance.

H+H designs and provides SCR exhaust gas treatment systems for nitrogen oxide emissions control from marine engines and stationary land engines. Founded in 1998, H+H is based in Hargesheim, Germany and currently has over 1,200 installed SCR units around the world.

“Our proven SCR systems are a good match for Yara’s scale in reagent supply and its SNCR Systems expertise. Together, we are even better positioned to help customers around the world achieve their environmental targets in a reliable and cost-effective manner,” says H+H Managing Director, Michael Heck.