Frank Chen | The Alchemy of Trash

The QUT Alumni Team sat down with Frank to discuss his environmental and philanthropic drivers and growing the company from a three-person team to an innovative, award-winning company with a presence in five countries.

What prompted you to start BR Metals?

After graduating from QUT, I returned to Singapore and quickly landed a role at one of the big four management consultancies. Despite the stable income and opportunities for career progression, I began to feel unfulfilled a year into the job. The turning point came when I witnessed first-hand the social injustice and sustained environmental abuse caused by platinum group metals (PGM) mining. Upon further research I discovered that extracting precious metals from discarded catalytic converters could recover up to 2,000 times more precious metals than mining from the ground. I had found my calling as an urban miner and in 2009, I left my corporate job and set up BR Metals with a few trusty staff in Guangzhou, China. We now collect 80 to 100 tons of end-of-life catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters as well as a few tons of spent industrial catalysts and other auto parts like spark plugs, oxygen sensors and automotive electronic control units across three facilities in Singapore, China and Malaysia with another small-scale operation in Thailand and representative office in Vietnam. From these scraps, we recover over three tons of PGM annually. Once recovered, these precious metals are sold to refineries, precious metal trading houses and banks, which mostly return them to automakers, creating a circular economy.

Can you tell us what emerging issue/s will have the greatest impact on the precious metals industry in the next 5-10 years? This can either be South-East Asia or Global.

Let’s start with catalytic converter recycling. I expect business to keep growing as vehicles from the late 2000s Chinese economic boom are scrapped over the next few years.

I also expect demand for platinum to rise as hybrid cars gain popularity among a more climate-conscious public. These vehicles are more energy-efficient than their more traditional counterparts but surprisingly require more platinum-group metals to effectively break down the toxic emissions.

At the same time, fully electric vehicles (EVs) powered by Lithium-ion battery or fuel cells may soon replace vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICEs) in most developed countries, including Singapore in time to come. Citing an example, under the Singapore Green Plan, the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) expects the cost of buying an EV to be similar to an ICE vehicle by the mid-2020s, with the full adoption of cleaner energy vehicles by 2040.

Hopefully, technical breakthroughs in hydrogen fuel cells will make them more viable than the lithium-ion batteries that power EVs, which has the lion share of the market now. This is because hydrogen fuel cells produce water as by-product and require platinum as a catalyst, which would keep recycling platinum commercially viable.

The shift in consumer mindsets has been a boon for us despite the challenges. It forces us to move out of our comfort zone and innovate for continuous growth.

What are some of your career highlights?

BR Metals may well be my greatest achievement to date as we have been recognised in the following ways:

• Ranked 1st and 3rd in Singapore Enterprise 50 Awards in 2023 and 2021 respectively
• New Entrepreneur Awards 2019 winner by ASME & Rotary Club of Singapore
• Top 15% ranking as Top 500 Asia Pacific’s Fastest Growing Companies in Financial Times and Statista survey for two consecutive years from 2019 to 2021
• Top 10 ranking in Statista Singapore’s Fastest-Growing Companies for three consecutive years from 2019 and 2021
• Experian SMEI50 – Top SME Ranked by Overseas Sales Turnover (2019)
• Experian SME 1000 - Top Companies Ranked by Sales/Turnover (2019)
• Singapore Business Review Awards National Business Awards 2018 – Metals & Mining for Workplace Automation

Transparency is cited as a core value of BR Metals. How is this implemented in your business process?

Through technology, we led the way in price transparency, which in turn differentiated us from other same size players in the market at that time. From the onset, we spared no expense in acquiring cutting-edge sampling and analysis equipment that were set up in tandem with proven analysis methodology to accurately measure the precious metal content in any batch of PGM scraps. In fact, we were among the first in the Chinese market to do so and customers are invited to witness the process. They can choose to have BR Metals’ process replicated by an independent third-party if they have any doubts regarding the fully-documented results.

University scholarships, development of schools in Laos, environmental restoration is Guangzhou and public library text donations are just some of the philanthropic initiatives cited on the website. Can you tell us if the inception of these initiatives comes from a personal or strategic view point?

I firmly believe in a holistic approach to sustainability and therefore work towards ensuring our approach to sustainable PGM supply is in line with the various Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set out by the United Nation to end poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, and achieve peace and justice. Towards this end, BR Metals contributes to the goal of quality education through building schools in underdeveloped regions and setting up of the BR Metals Scholarships that provides opportunities for outstanding students, from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are passionate about making a positive difference in their lives as well as to develop future generation of business leaders who will help take sustainability to the mainstream and to new heights.

Beyond that, BR Metals promotes climate action through active involvement in environmental rehabilitation activities. I’m thrilled that my colleagues share my commitment to sustainability and are always willing to lend a helping hand.

Metal is the fifth most common material in household garbage after paper, food, plastic and green waste. Is there anything that individuals can do to minimise metal waste?

Well, here are a few things I’m doing at home to reduce metal waste:

1. Recycle your cans.
2. Reuse aluminium foil for as long as it’s functional. When you are truly done, clean off any food particles and ball it up for recycling.
3. Use cast iron cookware and avoid non-stick cookware. The chemical coating makes the metal non-recyclable.
4. Dispose metal paint cans, oil cans and propane tanks according to your local council’s guideline to avoid environmental contamination as these are all considered hazardous waste in most communities.
5. Learn how to care for ferrous metals to minimise rust and extend their usage. This will help to facilitate recycling at the end of it.
6. Reuse is just as important as recycling. Whenever possible, buy second-hand. Unlike other materials, metal is durable enough to survive several generations of use before recycling.
7. Recycle old jewellery to give old gold and silver a new lease of life.
8. Recycle your e-waste responsibly or learn how to fix broken gadgets instead of replacing them. Before purchasing that new electronic appliance, think twice about whether you truly need or whether a more easily recyclable option will do.

What is one skill you couldn’t live without and why?

One the most important traits that an entrepreneur must possess to the ability to adapt and adjust to both macro and micro market dynamics. More than a decade into my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve learnt this well. Flexibility is the key to success in the increasingly hyper competitive world.

Do you have a question for Frank? Connect with him on LinkedIn.