Veolia sells sulfuric acid regen business for US$620m

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VEOLIA has sold its North American sulfuric acid regeneration business to private equity group American Industrial Partners (AIP) for US$620m as part of a green strategy shift.

The unit’s activities include helping refineries process sulfur gas and regenerate spent sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide which are critical to the alkylation process. Veolia has sold the business, whose revenue was US$350m in 2023, because it doesn’t fit with the company strategy it unveiled earlier this year.

The French group announced in February that it would streamline its activities to focus on three core areas, including water treatment, bioenergy, and the recycling of battery and plastics waste.

“The sulfuric acid regeneration business in the United States is not one of our key priorities and does not offer synergies with our core activities,” said Veolia's CEO Estelle Brachlianoff.

The unit sold employs 300 staff and operates 13 facilities in the US, including five onsite at refineries.

AIP has renamed the business Nexpera and expects it will benefit from the shift in global supply chains being brought about by generous tax credits provided by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which are tempting manufacturers to set up in the US.

Nexpera also manufactures sulfuric acid and sulfur derivatives used in a broad range of industrial processes, including semiconductor production, gold and copper mining, and electric vehicle battery production.

Alex Schukin, a partner at AIP, said: “Nexpera’s business units align with strong market drivers related to clean fuel production, emission reduction, and reshoring of industrial activities in the US.”