Japan’s Asahi Kasei and Furuya Metal have started a demonstration project with Dutch software company Circularise to trace recycled precious metals used in chlor-alkali electrolysis electrodes and assess the issuance of digital product passports.
The Japan-based project extends a metal-recycling trial that began in 2025. According to Asahi Kasei’s November 12 announcement, the companies will connect records covering the recovery, refining and reuse of iridium and ruthenium from end-of-life electrodes. The aim is to make the metals’ origin and circulation history visible while limiting access to commercially sensitive information.
Iridium and ruthenium are used in chlor-alkali electrodes as well as electronics and semiconductor materials. They are also expected to have growing applications in proton-exchange-membrane water electrolysis for hydrogen production. Asahi Kasei cited International Precious Metals Institute estimates that annual primary iridium production is about seven metric tons and annual ruthenium supply is about 30 metric tons, with production concentrated in a small number of locations. These figures are estimates supplied through the company announcement.
Asahi Kasei and Circularise previously ran a simulated proof of concept between February and September 2025. They tested whether Circularise’s platform could record metal recovered from used electrodes and the amount reused in new electrodes. The companies said that exercise confirmed key elements of feasibility, but it did not involve the full physical recovery and recycling chain now being tested.
The current trial adds Furuya Metal, which refines, processes and recycles platinum-group metals. In the first phase, the partners will test how traceability information is captured and managed from the collection of used electrodes through metal extraction and refining into reusable bullion. The second phase will evaluate information sharing from recycled metal through the manufacture of new electrodes and assess whether a digital product passport can be issued.
Circularise’s system is designed to let participating companies disclose selected supply-chain information without exposing all underlying confidential data. Asahi Kasei invested in Circularise through its corporate venture capital unit in 2022.
An English-language release distributed by JCN Newswire said the companies will use the findings to consider practical implementation. No investment amount, commercial deployment date, customer commitment or measured recycling improvement was disclosed. The partners said they may later evaluate similar traceability mechanisms for water-electrolysis equipment used in hydrogen production.