New plant in Tianjin, the company's biggest-ever investment, to produce catalytic converters

Haldor Topsoe AS, a leading Danish manufacturer of catalytic products, started operation of an advanced catalytic converter plant in Tianjin on June 16. It is the company's largest-ever investment, costing 600 million yuan ($91 million, 80.8 million euros).

"Topsoe is strongly committed to China, and we believe the production of advanced catalytic converters will be a relevant contribution to support the ambitious environmental goals in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20)," says Bjerne S. Clausen, president and CEO of Haldor Topsoe.

The plant, which is located in the Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area, will also be the biggest production base for the company globally. Its products will target mainly the Chinese market, but also may be exported to other markets, Clausen says.

The plant will produce advanced catalytic converters that clean exhaust from heavy-duty diesel engines in trucks, buses and other vehicles. Basic components of smog and hazardous soot particles are removed, which significantly improves air quality.

The plant also has advanced production equipment, including robots. Clausen says in the past China has focused on growth, but now it has transferred focus onto more sustainable growth with an emphasis on the environment, so Haldor Topsoe wants to play a role.

"China is definitely becoming more important for the company," says Franck Lihu Lei, vice-president of Haldor Topsoe.

A recent report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection says vehicle exhaust emissions have grown into a major source of airborne pollutants and are a main contributor of haze and photochemical smog.

More than 90 percent of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, the main airborne pollutants, are discharged from vehicles, the report says.

Haldor Topsoe entered the Chinese market more than 40 years ago and has more than 170 employees in China. This year, it entered into its first commercial research collaboration outside Denmark with China's Dalian Institute for Chemical Physics.

chenyingqun@chinadaily.com.cn