Regenx Tech Corp. C.RGX

Update

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We recently announced the opening of our first facility in Greeneville, Tennessee. For the recent followers to our story, Regenx specializes in the extraction of precious metals from end-of-life products using an environmentally safe technology. Precious metals are a finite resource, every ounce recycled and recovered means one less ounce that needs to be successfully discovered, mined, and processed. Sustainability is a driving force currently on the world stage. As well, large corporations are seeking solutions to this diminishing resource problem by proactively partnering with companies that will allow them to use recycled and recovered products for the manufacture of new ones. Globally, the circular economy is a key driver for corporations seeking to show leadership in this area.
 

Our first initiative is the recovery of platinum and palladium from diesel catalytic converters. This revolutionary process is poised to recover and recycle over 90% of the precious metals found in these converters in a more environmentally responsible way.
 

Regenx’s innovative process and its cutting-edge technology make it the first non-smelter company to commercialize precious metal extraction from diesel catalytic converters in a sustainable way. Traditional smelting has long been the only commercial method for recovering Palladium (Pd) and Platinum (Pt) from used catalytic converters. However, due to processing issues with diesel catalytic converters and without an alternative recovery method, an estimated USD $21.1 billion per year of precious metals from diesel catalytic converters alone is not being recycled and recovered. These orphaned converters are ending up in scrap yards and landfills creating harmful emissions and waste that pose significant environmental challenges. Regenx's clean technology uses proprietary chemical and processing technologies to provide a solution to this problem. One Regenx facility with four modules would recover less than 1% of the precious metals from unrecycled diesel catalytic converters. Even operating ten separate facilities at full capacity would only consume 5% of the diesel catalytic converters currently not being recycled annually.

Regenx CEO, Greg Pendura, stated, “What we’ve created is a technology that encompasses modern, urban mining, while promoting sustainability and reusability within a circular economy concept. Regenx is not only the first clean technology to commercially extract and recycle precious metals from end-of-life products, but it will be able to generate revenue opportunities in a growing market in which Regenx will be in the forefront”.

Regenx has developed a strong working relationship with both the county of Greeneville and the State of Tennessee through the active participation of Jeff Taylor, the President and CEO of Greene County Partnership, the Economic Development arm of the County of Greeneville. This relationship will greatly assist in our growth and expansion plans. We are being introduced to various government branches that deal extensively with green initiatives which will assist in our employment and funding initiatives along with receiving marketing exposure at the state and national levels.
 

The Regenx design concept features a flexible, modular layout. This design allows the Company to increase capacity at quicker rates while reducing capital risk and increasing operational efficiency. The commissioning of the first module has commenced with the testing of the components and will progress to the processing of smaller batches while gradually scaling up the operation in stages to the 100% capacity of 2.5 tonnes per day. It is projected the commissioning phase will take up to 90 days to complete at which time Module 1 will be in full production and bringing the Company into a positive cash flow position. A significant milestone achievement for any start up as it transitions into this crucial phase of profitability.
 

The 90-day commissioning process is a procedure that any new manufacturing system must go through. First, after plant assembly and before any start up procedures, all relevant municipal inspection protocols must be approved and signed off on prior to receiving the occupancy permit. This includes everything from electrical, plumbing, wastewater, and air. Once the permit is received you can then turn the power on and begin the commissioning protocols.
 

First step is checking all equipment and related components to ensure they are working properly. Then water goes through the system to check for pressures, leaks, computerization and so on. The critical part of the commissioning process begins as you start and stop while evaluating all operational aspects and performing the required testing protocols to ensure you are achieving your expected system efficiencies and recovering your expected percentage of precious metals. The early to mid stages of commissioning typically result in revenue losses for the company as multiple facets of the system need to be adjusted and restarted to optimize the process and precious metals are typically lost during this phase.

Near the later stages of commissioning as throughput speeds are increased and efficiencies and recoveries have been optimized, positive revenues begin to be achieved. The commissioning stage has been optimized when we are processing approximately 2.5 tonnes per day of feedstock and achieving the expected 90+% recovery of precious metals. Once this has been accomplished and successfully maintained for a short period of time, the system can then be “checked off” and considered a fully operational module.
 

What Regenx has been able to accomplish in a relative short period of time is remarkable. In many instances it takes decades to develop and commercialize technologies. This was not just a Chemical Research Project but also a Commercial Development Project as well. The Company was able to progress its technology from the lab bench to a fully commercial system. It then had to solve two issues, one chemistry and the second process development. We had to accomplish this within our limited resources and timeline in the middle of the Covid pandemic with all its related obstacles, including massive supply chain interruptions. It was an incredible feat and a testament to the hard work and expertise of our staff. On the surface, the process seems quite simple. If this was the case, the market would already be filled with competitors. To our knowledge, we will be the first commercial operation in the industry and this gives Regenx an extraordinary market advantage.
 

After the Company achieves sustained production from Module 1, it will increase the facility’s production capacity to the planned 10 tonnes per day of feedstock by adding modules 2-4. It is expected the 10 tonne per day facility will be completed by the mid to later part of 2024 depending upon supply timelines. The learnings from the scale up of the first facility will allow for the completion of future facilities in shorter timelines anticipated to be approximately 9 months.
 

To be successful in this industry, a combination of supply side management and a commercial scalable extraction method is required. The strategic partnership between Davis Recycling and Regenx provides this required combination. Davis Recycling is a leading catalytic converter recycler on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. Eastern Tennessee is ideally located in a strategic area that allows easy access to a large portion of the US population and is situated on major transportation lines to facilitate the efficient collection of the raw materials. This location allows a consistent supply of catalytic core materials which Davis pulverizes for processing at the Regenx Greeneville facility.

The Greeneville facility houses the precious metal extraction process. This process utilizes industrial scale chemical reaction tanks “the reactors” in which multiple stages of required chemistry occur. At a high level, the Regenx proprietary technology is simple, extract the precious metal from the feedstock using a chemical reaction, then separate the barren solids “tailings” from the liquid solution that contains the precious metals, and then convert the precious metals back to a solid state in other chemical reactions. The tailings created from the process are planned to be repurposed as a product for an industrial usage leaving us as close as possible to a net zero environmental footprint.
 

The simplicity of the description obscures the complexity of optimizing the chemistry to maximize effectiveness and the technical requirements of the process to allow for the efficient flow of materials from station to station. This is the reason why we chose to keep our proprietary IP closely guarded and bypass the patent route.
 

The initial design of the pilot plant is substantially different than the present Module 1. The initial process required a high amount of the chemistry to be recycled for the process to be economic. This level of required recyclability was not being meet in the pilot plant trials and when combined with drastic increases in the prices of the chemicals the economics did not meet our profitability objectives.

The Company’s technical staff had been working on alternatives that appeared to be more promising than the initial design. These alternatives allowed the process to be simplified while increasing the economic returns. The pilot plant was modified to test the alternative process and the changes produced excellent results. With these results Module 1 was fabricated for the alternative process.

Don Weatherbee, Regenx President stated, “I’m proud of our workforce who have been meeting the challenges that have appeared during this process head on and found solutions to propel us forward. Our group will continue to review our processes and systems to improve our effectiveness and efficiency. Everyone in Regenx is excited for this stage of our development and is Ready to Grow.”

The seed has been planted and cultivated; it is now beginning to sprout. Nurturing is still required to grow this sapling into a tree and this tree into a forest, but we are confident that this will be accomplished. Ongoing updates on the commissioning phase will be forthcoming. 

For more information about Regenx and its eco-friendly technology, visit: www.regenx.tech.

Greg Pendura
CEO