RE:RE:New Press Release - HPQ Files Provisional Patent Application for High Throughput Silicon-Based Anode Material ManufacturingAnd some great points from @ordos:
@ordos Very interesting NR.
With the filing of the patent they were able to now share the step by step description of the process going from raw quartz rock all the way to final SiOx material to be mixed with the graphite for Lithium-ion battery anodes manufacturing.
I have made the following conclusions from this NR:
1. HPQ Silicon's validated Gen3 material is so good already that it can be directly used in $12B USD ($38.3B USD by 2030) 3C markets (Computer, Consumer, and Communication)
2. HPQ Silicon is prioritizing the scaling up of the production of the SiOx material so it can move faster to commercialization
3. Final SiOx material can fetch between $60,000USD to $100,000USD per tonne. I assume that Gen3 is already within that range
4. All current SiOx material manufacturing is batch-based and is there slow and expensive. HPQ Silicon will very likely be the first to achieve semi-continuous or fully continuous production of the final SiOx material 5. The final SiOx material is actually UGS silicon encapsulated in carbon 6. HPQ Silicon's production of SiOx is fully vertically integrated, they will only need quartz rock and reductant carbon as feedstock
7. The new process seamlessly integrates into the already proven and operational QRR pilot plant design
The key takeaway for me is that they are accelerating commercialization as they think they are ready even with the Gen3 material. That is why priority focus shifted to scaling up. I am sure the improvement of capacity will continue in parallel.
All in my opinion, of course, and I am sure Bernard will talk about this in the next interview. BCONTVentures wrote: Excellent addition to HPQ Silicon's patent portfolio. From the NR:
“This new patent application, along with the validated potential of our material, further strengthens our unique value proposition in the silicon-based anode materials market," added Mr. Tourillon. "What truly sets us apart from other players in the field is that our primary feedstock is low-cost metallurgical silicon metal, rather than the much more expensive and volatile monosilane gas(SiH4) [7] which also requires a costly Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process to produce battery-grade silicon materials.”
And:
Another key advantage is that this process can be seamlessly integrated into HPQ’s QRR without requiring significant changes to reactor design, minimizing technological development risks.