On February 18, 2011, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IPE-CAS), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Meidensha Corporation (MEIDEN) have signed an agreement in IPE to cooperate on the development of the commercial production technology of a new catalyst for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x in flue gas.

The cooperation was based on an indigenous catalyst developed at laboratory in IPE.  On this basis three parties will work together on the developments of the technologies for the commercial productions of the raw powder material and catalyst monolith.  A utilization demonstration of the produced new catalyst will be also performed. IPE will undertake the development of powder material production technology and conduct a pilot test for the catalyst's applicability at temperatures low as 200-240^oC. AIST will take charge of the evaluation of the manufactured monolith catalyst by MEIDEN at laboratory scale, and MEIDEN will be responsible for the development of the manufacture technology for commercial-size monolith using the powder material provided by IPE.

In China, the flue gas denitrification (DeNOx) is becoming the major task of air pollution control from the new five-year plan. The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) of China has issued the new emission standards of air pollutants early in this year, which will be in force from January of 2012. The permitted emission of NOx in the thermal power plants and gas turbines is below 100 mg/Nm³. In addition to power plants, the control of the NO_x emission from the various industrial combustion furnaces is also necessary and urgent in China.  This cooperation expects to provide a Chinese indigenous technology to meet the needs for the DeNOx in such industrial combustion furnaces. 

The three parties have planned to apply for a project funding from the New Energy Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan in 2011. MEIDEN is also considering to invest a joint venture with IPE in China to commercialize the co-developed new technology and new catalyst.