Achieving further reductions in the emissions that cause local air pollution, acid rain and global warming remains an important goal for the next century. Johnson Matthey is determined to build further on its expertise in catalysis and to maintain its position at the forefront of the growing markets for new and improved environmental technologies.

Minimising emissions from vehicles
The introduction of autocatalysts has resulted in dramatic reductions in major exhaust pollutants. In the UK, for example, where autocatalysts have been fitted since the early 1990s, emissions savings in the period between 1990 and 2000 will total around 15.0 million tonnes CO, 3.7 million tonnes NOx and 2.9 million tonnes HCs. Development of emission control catalysts for motorcycles. These are expected to be fitted in significant numbers in Europe and India as new regulations come into force over the next year.

Improving air quality further in city centres depends largely on cutting polluting emissions from heavy duty diesel vehicles such as buses and lorries and from motorcycles. Johnson Matthey has been at the forefront of development of products to deal with heavy duty diesel pollution for many years. Its Continuously Regenerating Trap (CRT™), can reduce HCs, CO and PM10 from such vehicles by more than 90% - so it is no wonder that the CRT™ was one of the first 200 Millennium products selected by the UK Design Council.

Recent US and EU legislation on heavy duty vehicle emissions sets tough standards for emissions of NOx and particulates for the years ahead that will require the use of advanced exhaust catalyst technology.

The CRT™ now features in the R&D programmes of many of the world's leading engine manufacturers and is already being offered as an option by several of Europe's leading truck and bus manufacturers. Johnson Matthey is also actively involved in developing solutions to NOx emissions with major engine manufacturers in the USA and Europe. The group is in the process of equipping the Detroit testing facility that it acquired in February 1999 with state of the art heavy duty diesel testing equipment.

Johnson Matthey is also at the forefront of development of emission control catalysts for motorcycles. These are expected to be fitted in significant numbers in Europe and India as new regulations come into force over the next year.

Cutting emissions from industrial processes and energy generation
Johnson Matthey's Environmental Products business provides unique catalytic solutions to air quality problems caused by emissions from industrial processes and power generation plants. Though based in the USA where environmental limits are toughest, the business supplies customers around the globe and will be ready to respond to demand as clean air regulations spread and tighten.

Fuel cell technology
Fuel cells use platinum catalysed electrodes to generate power electrochemically from hydrogen and oxygen. Their major environmental benefits include high energy efficiency and potentially zero polluting emissions - if pure hydrogen is used as fuel the only by-product is water. As development milestones continue to be passed, it is becoming ever clearer that fuel cells can offer a real alternative to internal combustion engines, batteries and all sizes of power plants.

Johnson Matthey is working with a number of major Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell developers and has produced a range of leading edge catalysts and catalysed components such as MEAs (membrane-electrode assemblies) designed to give optimum performance and to be capable of volume manufacture. Work is also continuing on ancillary catalyst based components necessary for fuel cell systems such as fuel reformers to generate hydrogen and CO clean up devices. Johnson Matthey's proprietary HotSpot™ methanol fuel reformer is being adapted for use with other fuels.

... in cars and buses
A fuel cell vehicle engine with Johnson Matthey's HotSpot™ reformer and Demonox™ CO clean up technology can reduce tailpipe emissions of CO₂ by 40-60%, and all but eliminate NOx and CO emissions. The earliest transport application of fuel cells will be in buses; successful field trials have already taken place in Canada and America. But cars are set to become the biggest market for fuel cells. Many of the world's leading car companies now have PEM fuel cell research and demonstration programmes, with several announcing plans to produce significant volumes of vehicles for sale by 2004.

... for power generation
Decentralised fuel cell power generation is widely seen as a major opportunity, with environmental benefits including high energy efficiency, negligible emissions and low noise. Systems sized to power offices and factories are already being built. Smaller scale residential PEM fuel cell systems have also attracted much interest from energy companies, and are projected to be the first mass market for fuel cells, perhaps becoming commercially available as early as 2001. Johnson Matthey has developed novel fuel reformers to generate hydrogen from natural gas for this application which will be used in large scale field trials in the US starting in 2000. Using natural gas, these micro-CHP (combined heat and power) systems could reduce CO₂ emissions for each home by 20-50%.

Solar energy
Capturing sunlight and turning it into electricity is an ideal emissions free and noise-free way of creating energy at the point where it is needed - and each kilowatt of solar energy created can save the equivalent of one tonne of CO₂ emissions per year. But huge challenges still exist in development of cheap and effective solar energy systems. Johnson Matthey's recent purchase of a stake in a photovoltaic development company, INAP, allows our active participation in developing novel low cost cells. Highly specialised ruthenium dyes are at the heart of this technology and represent one area of expertise Johnson Matthey brings to the programme. Benefits the technology can offer include efficient operation at diffused light levels, systems that are sufficiently cost effective for widespread use in developing countries and the potential to produce transparent photovoltaic glass.

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