KEWAZO, a Munich and Houston-based robotics company, has raised $30 million to expand its lifting robot technology across global industrial sites. The funding round was backed by Chevron Technology Ventures, Asahi Kasei, Schooner Capital and existing investors. The company's flagship product, LIFTBOT, automates vertical material movement and is already operational at over 20 industrial locations across Europe and North America, including refineries, petrochemical plants and power facilities. The technology replaces cranes and manual handling during maintenance and capital projects. Chief executive Artem Kuchukov said demand is driven by the need for practical automation in live industrial environments. The funding will support increased deployment capacity and expansion into additional workflows. KEWAZO is also developing a data platform to improve operational transparency and support further automation.

Asahi Kasei, Nippon Steel and Nippon Steel Trading have launched a recycling initiative to convert pure titanium scrap from electrolysis cell manufacturing into raw material for new pure titanium. The collaboration aims to reduce environmental impact and enhance material value recovery in the chlor-alkali industry. Pure titanium is used in electrolysis cells' anode side to resist corrosive chlorine, requiring extremely high purity. Asahi Kasei controls the entire process at its Nobeoka site through digital tools to prevent contamination. Nippon Steel Trading collects and processes the scrap, which Nippon Steel then remelts into new pure titanium. The partners plan to increase recycling rates and extend the initiative to other metals used in electrolysis cells, building on Asahi Kasei's precious metals recycling project announced in April 2025.

Asahi Kasei has begun installing a containerised 1 MW-class alkaline-water electrolyzer at Finland's first commercial hydrogen refueling station in Jyväskylä. The Aqualyzer-C system will be operated by Cefmof Hydrogen, a subsidiary of the Central Finland Mobility Foundation, with operations scheduled to start in summer 2026. The electrolyzer will produce 400kg of hydrogen daily, sufficient to refill approximately three fuel cell vehicles per hour. The project will support local hydrogen-powered transportation, including fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen buses, and serve as a model for hydrogen utilization in cold climates. Asahi Kasei, which has over 50 years of experience in large-scale industrial electrolysis, added the 1–7.5 MW Aqualyzer-C range to its portfolio in 2024 to meet diverse customer needs across small and large-scale hydrogen projects.