Metallium Advances Flash Joule Heating Activities at New Gator Point Technology Campus

Metallium (ASX: MTM) is advancing activities at its Gator Point technology campus in Texas, with the restart of chlorinated flash joule heating (FJH) testing, first revenue from the MXene testing program with Environmental Clean Technologies (ASX: ECT), and an expansion of onsite laboratory capabilities.

After securing regulatory approval in December to support pilot-scale chlorination testing, the planned location point for the test reactors was moved closer to the northern boundary of the site.

However, a subsequent permitting review identified a lack of separation distance from the boundary and the nearest public receptor.

Metallium has since worked with the Chambers County Landfill and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to secure additional land immediately north of Gator Point to recommence chlorinated commissioning and testing.

Key Element of FJH Platform

Chlorination is a key element of Metallium’s FJH metals recovery platform whereby the chlorine reacts with target metals to form metal chlorides with varied physical and chemical properties, enabling their selective separation and recovery.

The platform has already been used across a range of metals including gallium, germanium and rare earth elements.

It can also utilise other halogens and halogen-based chemistries, providing flexibility to tailor processing conditions to different feedstocks.

Chlorinated testing will be subject to a two-week ramp-up period followed by a planned 12-hour multi-reactor chlorinated campaign to generate data to support the optimisation of reactor operating parameters and configuration.

Air dispersion modelling and environmental assessment for longer-lead permitting applications, along with engineering and design work for the next stage of FJH scale-up and commercialisation, are also on the agenda.

MXene Production Testing

Preparations are underway for a MXene production testing campaign at Gator Point, utilising Metallium’s FJH reactor platform as a potentially faster and more scalable processing route.

Metallium has received the first tranche of a US$500,000 payment from Environmental Clean Technologies under a recent commercial monetisation deal, with the remainder expected within the week.

The program is being supported by the expansion of Metallium’s analytical capability at Gator Point to include x-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis.

This will allow testing and process development activities to be conducted onsite with faster access to results and reduced time between analysis and reactor optimisation.

Engineering Appointment

Metallium has strengthened its engineering capability with the appointment of industry veteran John Campo to the lead role.

His responsibilities will include the maintenance of engineering standards, reactor and process integration, contractor management, technical assurance, project execution, and operational readiness.

Mr Campo has 30 years of engineering and operational experience across chemical, refining, and process manufacturing environments, and has held senior roles with Pinnacle Reliability, BHP Billiton Petroleum, Celanese Corporation and Dow Chemical Company.

He has previously worked in the areas of greenfield plant development, process optimisation, reliability, technology testing, and complex project execution.