HPQ SILICON FILES NEW PATENT AND EXITS NANO TECHNOLOGYFURTHER TO TCHEK POST...
November 17, 2023. 09:13 EST - HPQ Silicon (TSXV:HPQ) has moved to patent an innovative silicon oxide (SiOx) manufacturing process in France
- The market for SiOx is expected to reach US$9 billion to US$15 billion by 2030
HPQ Silicon (TSXV:HPQ) has moved to patent an innovative silicon oxide (SiOx) manufacturing process in France.
Silicon suboxides allow for high lithium storage capacity, making them an ideal anode material. Silicon anode materials are expected to reach a demand of 300,000 tons by 2030, according to QY Research, SNE Research and Shinhan Securities, with a price ranging from US$30-US$50 per kg based on HPQ’s supplier quotes from GH Technologies.
The provisional patent application is based on a lightly modified design of the company’s Purevap Quartz Reduction Reactor, a technology capable of transforming quartz into high-purity silicon at reduced cost compared to legacy methods.
HPQ’s SiOx production process is superior to the standard process because it allows for continuous production, while the latter can only work in batches. The price of SiOx is also two to three times higher than silicon of the same purity, according to supplier quotes received by HPQ affiliate Novacium SAS, raising HPQ’s revenue prospects moving forward.
“This new patent application enhances our value proposition for silicon-based anode materials,” Bernard Tourillon, president and CEO of HPQ Silicon, said in a statement. “Our unique Purevap QRR technology, as you know, can convert quartz into a low-carbon 3N+ Si in a single step. A modified Purevap QRR will leverage this 3N+ Si to produce SiOx, which, as you also know, is highly coveted by the battery industry.”
As per French law, HPQ acquired all rights held by the inventors for C$90,000.
HPQ Silicon abandons nano silicon reactor development
After assessing the current state of the nano silicon material market, and the future development costs to upgrade the Purevap Nano Silicon Reactor to the commercial stage, HPQ no longer intends to build a business around the technology. It will instead “focus its resources on other market-ready and more promising initiatives, such as its Fumed Silica Reactor project and silicon-based anode material initiative,” according to today’s announcement.