With the current pandemic, large amounts of disinfectants are needed to prevent the spread of the virus. Permascand’s technology can be very helpful in facilitating this.

“By using our technology, we can produce mobile equipment for the production of a chlorine solution to be used for surface disinfection,” says Peter Lundström, CEO at Permascand.

When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Permascand’s R&D department began work on modifying existing water purification technology. The electrochemical cells that normally purify a vessel’s ballast water can now also be used to produce disinfectants.

The cells are mobile, and this means that, for example, hospitals and other health care facilities, along with transport hubs, can produce the amount of disinfectant they need on site.

“We are currently looking into the possibility to offer a test equipment to Sundsvall Hospital, which is the hospital closest to our head office in Sweden,” says Lars Nyman, Sales Director for Permascand’s Department of Water Treatment Systems.

The new application area for Permascand’s technology has been highlighted by the Västernorrland County Governor, who has classifed the company as socially beneficial through a Letter of Consideration.

“As a company, we feel a great responsibility to contribute to this global crisis, which will affect us for a long time to come. Since our production at 95 percent goes to export, we have developed logistics solutions to get our technology out to the world,” explains Peter Lundström, CEO at Permascand.

Permascand will immediately donate 350 liters of hand sanitizer and a large number of face masks to Sundsvall’s hospital and the municipality of Ånge.

“We have excess hand sanitizer and the face masks have been sent to us through a business partner in China,” explains Viktoria Lindstrand, Global Marketing Director. “It feels good that we can somehow contribute to a situation that affects us all.”

“It’s great fun that our investments are so timely,” says Peter Lundström, CEO. “Especially as the purpose of ballast water purification has a clear environmental focus by preventing organisms from spreading from their natural propagation areas and therefore threatening the biodiversity of the oceans.

“We see this as an important step on the road towards the green change that the world is embracing. Permascand’s vision is to become the number one global independent provider of electrochemical solutions for green technologies.”

In line with that, Permascand’s electrowinning technology is one of the foundations for efficient copper and nickel extraction, a method that reduces our customers’ energy consumption by 10%. Additionally, the company has recently launched a new brand, Norscand®, an electrochemical cell used in the extraction of lithium – an important component of batteries for electric cars, amongst other things. As pioneers of DSA technology, Permascand has also enabled customers to replace lead and graphite with titanium anodes.

“We calculated how much of the world’s energy consumption has decreased thanks to our electrochemical coatings,” explains Peter Lundström. “Since 1971, it corresponds to Sweden’s total electricity consumption for one year.”

At the end of September, Permascand also passed its previous year’s sales record with a total of 323 million SEK in sales.

“We have prepared for large volumes of production and continue to grow by 50% annually,” explains Peter Lundström. “Now we are approaching a turnover of half a billion.”

In the production units in Ljungaverk, large investments have been made based on modern technology and functionality. Continued development of the business involves, among other things, competence development, optimization of processes to reduce emissions and material consumption.

“For every day that we bill, we now set sales records,” says Peter Lundström.