Berzelius - Stolberg

Acid Plant Database February 16, 2023

Owner	Trafigura Group - Nyrstar
Location	Binsfeldhammer 14 D-52224 Stolberg Germany
Background	1848 - Company originally founded as Berzelius Stolberg GmbH www.berzelius-metall.de Ecobat Resources Stolberg GmbH www.ecobat.com Ecobat 2022 - Trafigura Group, Plant will be operated by Nyrstar which is 98% owned by Trafigura
Website	www.nyrstar.com
Plant	Plant No. 1	Plant No. 2
Coordinates*	-	50° 45' 20" N, 6° 14' 17" E
Type of Plant	Metallurgical	Metallurgical
Gas Source	Lead 1956 - Sinter Machine	Lead QSL
Hot Gas Cleaning	-	Waste Heat Boiler - Hot ESP
Wet Gas Cleaning	-	Washing Tower - WESP - Hg Removal
Plant Capacity	-	1990 - 250 MTPD 2000 - 300 MTPD
SA/DA	-	2/2 DA Conversion: 99.5%
Status	Shutdown	Operating
Year Built	1960	1990
Technology	-	Lurgi
Contractor	-	-
Remarks	-	1997 - Mercury removal system installed 2009 - BAYQIK System installed
	Product Acid: < 0.5 ppm Hg
Pictures
General	The BERZELIUS Bleihütte (BBH) Stolberg is one of the largest and most modern lead smelters in the world. The primary smelter, founded in 1848, attained this distinction through the introduction of the QSL process in 1990. Ever since, this company, with its present workforce of 190 employees, has maintained its technological leadership in the production of primary lead and sulphuric acid. Its annual production of 150,000 tonnes of lead and lead alloys, along with 100.000 tonnes sulphuric acid, also sets international standards.
References	(1) Siegmund, A., Puellenberg, R. and Rohkohl, A., “QSL-Stolberg, Germany – Lead Smelting in the New Millennium”, Proceedings of an International Symposium on Zinc and Lead Processing, Calgary, Canada, August 16-19, 1998, pp. 825-842. (2) R. Püllenberg and A. Rohkohl, "Modern Lead Smelting at the QSL-Plant Berzelius Metall in Stolberg, Germany", Lead-Zinc 2000, TMS, pp. 127-148.
News	February 15, 2023 - Commodity trader Trafigura said on Wednesday it has completed its purchase of Ecobat Resources Stolberg (ERS) multi-metals processing plant in Germany and plans to bring it online in the coming weeks to supply European battery producers. The Stolberg plant will be operated and managed by Nyrstar, which Trafigura owns, and the Stolberg business will be renamed Nyrstar Stolberg GmbH, Trafigura said in a news release. The plant was among several industrial sites damaged by massive flooding in Germany's west and south last year and has suffered months of lost production. It has the capacity to produce 155,000 tonnes of lead, and more than 100 different specifications of lead alloys as well as 130,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid. "We plan to bring Nyrstar Stolberg online in the coming weeks," Guido Janssen, co-CEO of Nyrstar, said. September 30, 2022 - Germany's Stolberg lead plant has not reopened because its sale to Trafigura has not been completed, the commodities group's Nyrstar metals business said on Friday. The plant, located in the west of Germany, was sold to Trafigura in July and was due to reopen after the sale was finalised. "We currently do not have an update on when we expect to receive the relevant regulatory approvals," Nyrstar told Reuters. "We plan to restart the facility after all closing conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals to transfer the assets have been obtained and when the plant is technically ready." The plant, also known as Berzelius Stolberg, was among several German industrial businesses damaged by massive flooding in the west and south of the country in summer 2021 and declared force majeure on its contracts. The Stolberg smelter largely supplies European battery producers with lead. Stolberg produces 155,000 tonnes of lead and more than 100 different specifications of lead alloys as well as 130,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid. August 11, 2022 - German lead plant Stolberg, also known as Berzelius Stolberg, will reopen when its sale has been approved and when it is technically ready, its prospective owner Nyrstar said on Thursday. The plant, in the west of Germany, was sold to commodities group Trafigura in July and will be operated and managed by Trafigura Group unit Nyrstar. Stolberg has been undergoing repairs since major flood damage in July 2021. Trafigura had said in July the restoration programme was scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2022. Asked by Reuters when the plant will reopen, Nyrstar said: “We plan to restart the facility when the plant is technically ready, when all necessary feedstock and support materials are available and when all closing conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals to transfer the assets have been obtained.” The sale needs approval by the relevant competition authorities. The plant was among several German industrial businesses damaged by massive flooding in the country’s west and south in summer 2021 and declared force majeure on its contracts. The Stolberg smelter largely supplies European battery producers with lead. Stolberg produces 155,000 tonnes of lead and over 100 different specifications of lead alloys plus 130,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid. London Metal Exchange lead was about $2,177 a tonne on Thursday, hovering around 2-month highs. July 6, 2022 - Ecobat, the global leader in battery recycling, and Trafigura, a leading global supplier of commodities, are pleased to announce that they have entered into a binding agreement for the sale of Ecobat Resources Stolberg GmbH (ERS) which owns the Stolberg multi-metals processing plant in Germany. The Stolberg plant will be operated and managed by Nyrstar, an international multi-metals mining and smelting company and market leader in the production of zinc and lead metal. Nyrstar is 98 percent owned by the Trafigura Group. Ecobat is a leader in the collection, recycling, production, and distribution of energy storage solutions. It has operations in Europe, the United States, and Africa, and focuses on lead and lithium battery collection and recycling management services to empower sustainability efforts around the world. “The sale of ERS is consistent with our strategy to concentrate on our core business of battery recycling and represents a significant step in the rationalization of our portfolio,” said Marcus Randolph, CEO of Ecobat. “Combining the Stolberg plant with Nyrstar, which operates three European zinc smelters within a 300-kilometer radius of the Stolberg plant, offers a unique opportunity to leverage several of Nyrstar’s by-products as feed material for the Stolberg multi-metal business, offering locally produced strategic materials to Europe’s critical growth markets with a reduced carbon footprint and increased efficiency,” said Daniel Vanin, CEO of Nyrstar. “We look forward to welcoming the highly engaged Stolberg team to Nyrstar and are excited to continue to grow a business which offers highly relevant materials for the fast-evolving European green transition.” The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions precedent including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals. Completion is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2022. February 8, 2022 - German lead plant Ecobat Resources Stolberg, also known as Berzelius Stolberg, is expected to restart in early summer after serious damage from floods in July 2021, the company said. Part of the Ecobat group, the plant was among several German industrial units hit by massive flooding in the country's west and south last year. The exact timing of the restart is unclear but reconstruction is making good progress and operations are expected to resume in early summer, Ecobat told Reuters. The Stolberg smelter largely supplies European battery producers with lead and has a capacity of about 155,000 tonnes, according to its website. Force majeure was declared on the smelter's contracts in July. “Although uncertainties remain regarding the exact timing due to the complex situation globally, we are optimistic that much of the damaged equipment will be commissioned as early as this spring and anticipate full functionality of all equipment to be restored shortly thereafter, with restart of operations to occur during the first summer months,” said Ecobat Resources Germany CEO Sebastian Rudow. The company has made “good progress" with the reconstruction effort in spite of the resurgence of COVID-19 in Germany and elsewhere in the European Union and the associated challenges to equipment delivery dates and contractor availability, he said. “We continue to evaluate options for finding ways to accelerate our timeline and to get production back on track as quickly as possible,” he added. Copper producer Aurubis AG NAFG.DE has said its nearby Stolberg copper products plant in Germany, also damaged in the flooding, resumed production in November. October 5, 2021 - The initial clean-up of German lead plant Berzelius Stolberg is almost finished after it suffered heavy damage during floods this summer, but no date is yet available for production to resume, the company said on Tuesday. Berzelius Stolberg is part of the Ecobat group, and was among several plants hit by massive flooding in west and south Germany in July. "Cleanup efforts are nearing completion and we continue to work on the detailed specification of the damage assessment and the rebuild planning for the ERS facility," said Sebastian Rudow, managing director of Ecobat Resources Germany. "Re-opening remains our goal and we hope to be able to share a more specific update on timing in the coming weeks." A source with direct knowledge said the plant would not open before the end of this year. Asked about this, Rudow said: "We can't provide further detail on timing at this stage." The Berzelius Stolberg smelter supplies European battery producers with lead and has a capacity of about 155,000 tonnes, according to its website. Force majeure was declared on contracts in July. Tight supplies have pushed up physical premiums and prices for lead in Europe and the United States, and market sources say a lack of metal from Stolberg could see some consumers scrambling for supplies. Among other plants affected by the floods, copper producer Aurubis AG said on Sept. 20 its nearby Stolberg copper products facility will resume production in November. July 21, 2021 - German lead producer Berzelius Stolberg has declared force majeure on metal shipments from its Stolberg smelter in western Germany after floods hit production last week, the company said on Wednesday. Force majeure is a contractual clause invoked when factors outside a company’s control render it unable to meet its commitments to customers. The smelter supplies European battery producers with lead and has a capacity of about 155,000 tonnes, according to its website. Force majeure was declared on contracts last week, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. At least 170 people died and thousands went missing in last week’s flooding in Germany’s worst natural disaster in more than half a century. A huge clean-up operation is under way after drier weather this week. “Our Stolberg facility is closed due to the circumstances that have affected large parts of western Germany,” said an email to Reuters from parent firm Berzelius Metall, which itself is part of the Ecobat group. “In parallel we are also beginning the technical assessment that will help define when reopening may be possible,” it said. “We anticipate this may take at least several weeks.” Clean-up and recovery activities at the plant and surrounding site have begun and the company is working closely with numerous local and inter-regional partners who have offered support, Berzelius Metall added. Aurubis, Europe’s largest copper producer, said on Friday that floods had stopped production at its nearby Stolberg copper products plant. The 12-million tonne global lead market is relatively tight outside of top consumer China due to higher demand from Europe and the United States. “There is no immediate impact on the market but we need to see how long this outage lasts,” CRU Group analyst Neil Hawkes said of the Stolberg plant. But benchmark lead prices on the London Metal Exchange, near three-year high, could spike in anticipation of potential shortages, Hawkes added. June 16, 2009 - Bayer Technology Services GmbH (BTS) has been commissioned by Berzelius Stolberg GmbH, the largest lead manufacturer in Europe, to build a sulfuric acid plant operating on the BAYQIK® process. The company is based in Stolberg near Aachen, Germany. The plant has now been successfully brought on stream after just 17 months. The BAYQIK® (Quasi-Isotherme-Katalyse [quasi-isothermal catalysis]) process developed by BTS can increase the SO2 inlet concentration by up to 50 percent by volume. Coupled with optimized process management, this results in significantly higher conversion, i.e. sulfur dioxide emissions are greatly reduced. Another benefit is an increase of at least 30 percent in available plant capacity. Berzelius tested and optimized the process in a pilot application on-site. Its robustness, quality and cost benefits were the deciding factors in awarding the contract for the planning, delivery and construction of the first large-scale plant based on the BAYQIK® process. The facility has a total capacity of 450 metric tons of sulfuric acid per day. As the BAYQIK® process is operated on a peripheral basis, the existing sulfuric acid plant was refitted cost-effectively with only a few days’ downtime. Bayer Technology Services GmbH offers fully-integrated solutions along the life cycle of chemical and pharmaceutical plants - from development through engineering and construction to process optimization for existing plants. The Bayer subsidiary employs nearly 2,600 experts worldwide at its headquarters in Leverkusen and other German locations, as well as in regional offices in Belgium, India, Mexico, the United States, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the People's Republic of China. 2008 sales totaled approximately EUR 420 million. Additional information about Bayer Technology Services is available at http://www.bayertechnology.com.

MTPD - Metric Tonne per Day STPD - Short Ton per Day
MTPA - Metric Tonne per Annum STPA - Short Ton per Annum
SA - Single Absorption
DA - Double Absorption

* Coordinates can be used to locate plant on Google Earth


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