Beginning Q3 2024, the pilot plant will start operations. Initially, the system will operate under a batch protocol with the goal of replicating the production of fumed silica material with specific surface areas between 150 – 200 m2/g, similar results to those obtained at lab-scale. Subsequently, the system will progress to semi-continuous operations with the goal of producing 5m3 (200kg) of commercial-grade fumed silica, equivalent to 199 times the entire lab-scale production. This quantity will provide HPQ Polvere with enough material to send samples for qualification to multiple potential clients who have shown interest in our products, with the aim of securing priority offtake agreements for our low-carbon fumed silica material. During a follow up phase, the pilot plant operations will be optimized in order to target the production of food/pharma grade fumed silica material with specific surface areas exceeding 300 m2/g. This high value material is used in 'beauty and personal care' products—a market segment expected to drive increase demand for fumed silica and is projected to constitute 30% of the entire Fumed Silica market by 2032. Furthermore, if additional material were to be needed to fulfill clients demand and or qualify HPQ Polvere low-carbon fumed silica with additional potential clients, the system could switch to its full capacity mode, running multiple production cycles throughout the day. Assuming 20 hours of operations per day, the system could produce around 161 kg/day, equivalent to about 50,000 kg per year (50 TPY). Although the successful validation of upgrading the technology to achieve commercial-grade industrial production of Fumed Silica is not guaranteed, ongoing discussions point to opportunities for commercial partnerships during validation. These partnerships could take place in a variety of ways, including offtake agreements and/or technology adoption. Based on these discussions, and to meet the anticipated demand for low carbon Fumed Silica, HPQ Polvere's commercialization strategy is based on the construction of an initial FSR with a capacity of 1,000 TPY. Anticipate demand may require that the company consider building additional RSPs, each with a capacity of 1,000 TPY. The scale up choices emanate from an internal HPQ study that evaluated the technical and economic viability of a rapid scale-up of HPQ Silica Polvere's Fumed Silica Reactor (FSR). This scale-up would move from the current configuration of the pilot plant, producing 50 tonnes per annum (TPA), to a commercial configuration of 1,000 TPA, following the successful completion of the pilot plant testing phase.
Microsoft Word - HPQ MDA-032024-FINAL