VALIDATION HPQ Gen 1 Nano Silicon Reactor Successfully Produces First Sample of Nano Silicon Material
posted on Aug 05, 2021 02:00PM
MONTREAL, Aug. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. (“HPQ” or the “Company”) ( TSX-V: HPQ ) ( OTCQX: HPQFF ) ( FWB: UGE ), an innovative silicon solutions company, through its wholly – owned subsidiary HPQ Nano Silicon Powders inc (“HPQ NANO”), is pleased to inform shareholders that further to our April 22, 2021 release , technology provider, PyroGenesis Canada Inc. ( TSX: PYR ) ( NASDAQ: PYR ) ( FRA: 8PY ), has confirmed that the Gen1 PUREVAP™ Nano Silicon Reactor (“NSiR”) (“the Reactor”) has produced its first batch of Nano Silicon Materials.
MAKING NANO SILICON MATERIALS: A BIG MILESTONE REACHED WITH THE REACTOR
This milestone of producing a first batch of Nano Silicon Materials followed our methodical R&D approach to developing the PUREVAP™ NSiR process. As might be expected with development projects, the PyroGenesis engineering team faced a series of unexpected operating issues which they have since resolved and overcome, which has resulted in today’s announcement.
“The HPQ NANO team is now more confident than ever that the PUREVAP™ NSiR will be able to deliver, at scale, and on-demand, a nano silicon for anode production that will be cost competitive. The validation announced today, that the PUREVAP™ NSiR process can make Nano Silicon Material, was the big breakthrough we were looking for, ” said Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ Silicon. “Silicon is just beginning its path to battery anode commercialisation, going from a demand today that is less than 5% of anode material composition to over 30% expected by 2030 1 in a rapidly expanding market. This represents a massive demand expansion that simply cannot be met economically by traditional processes to make silicon for anodes. With this milestone, HPQ NANO is well positioned to offer the various sizes and types of silicon material that reflect customer demand as each industry participant is developing his own path to resolve the silicon battery anode issue .”
The following three main objectives of the Reactor testing program have now been achieved:
Validation that the Reactor can produce < 150nm Nano Silicon Powder (“NSP”) materials,
Validation that the Reactor can reach its design production parameters, and
Producing Nano Silicon materials using the Reactor
“Notwithstanding certain unexpected operating challenges, the results today are indeed a significant milestone as it validates our original assumptions and gives further evidence that we are on the right path,” said P. Peter Pascali, CEO and Chair of PyroGenesis. “Words cannot adequately describe the excitement at PyroGenesis at potentially being able to address and solve challenges in developing lithium-ion batteries, which are sought after by many industries but specifically the EV market.”
GOING FORWARD – MAKING MORE SILICON MATERIAL FOR TESTING AND POTENTIAL CLIENTS
After having made the required design modification and process improvements necessary for the Reactor to make Nano Silicon Materials, the program can now move to the next phase of development, the Gen2 PUREVAP™ NSiR. The immediate work program will:
Continue testing with the Reactor in order to produce greater quantities of Nano Silicon Powders (“NSP”),
Have the NSP materials qualified and
Commence engineering design for the next phase, the Gen2 PUREVAP™ NSiR , a 6 metric tonne per year design capacity pilot plant
The next samples of NSP’s produced by Reactor will be sent to the “Institut National de Recherche Scientifique” (INRS) for third party evaluation of powder characteristics. This third-party evaluation will be the next major milestone after which subsequent batches will be delivered to the awaiting automobile manufacturers plus numerous other entities that have demonstrated an interest in receiving samples.
The objective of Gen2 PUREVAP™ NSiR small scale pilot plant phase of work is to validate the commercial scalability of producing nano silicon materials in the size range from less than 100 nanometers to 5 microns (5,000 nanometres).