HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. reports that commissioning phase is completed for PUREVAP™ Quartz Reduction Reactor
by CM Staff
Budgeted at CDN$ 2,830,000 and lasting up to twelve (12) months, this final phase of the program will allow HPQ to validate and quantify the following PUREVAP™ QRR advantages.
MONTREAL — HPQ Silicon Resources Inc., a silicon solutions and technology development company, reports that technology provider, PyroGenesis Canada Inc. has informed HPQ that the commissioning phase of the program has been completed and that the PUREVAP™ Quartz Reduction Reactor (QRR) pilot plant is now functional.
With the GEN3 PUREVAP™ QRR pilot plant functional the project is entering its final Research and Development phase; operating the pilot plant to test the system under operational conditions and trying to produce high purity Silicon material sought after by battery makers and high value application manufacturers.
Budgeted at CDN$ 2,830,000 and lasting up to twelve (12) months, this final phase of the program will allow HPQ to validate and quantify the following PUREVAP™ QRR advantages identified during the previously completed Gen1 and Gen2 PUREVAP™ QRR testing phases:
| a) | Produce silicon material of higher purity than any traditional processes in a single step1, |
| b) | That it can reportedly do so without the need for extremely pure feedstock required by conventional processes2, |
| c) | That it reportedly requires 4.5 MT of raw material to make 1 MT of Silicon versus the 6 MT required by conventional processes2, |
| d) | That it does possess a reported ash cost advantage versus the lowest cost traditional Silicon producer2. |
As the test work advances, HPQ will commence:
- Using the material for downstream testing and production of more HPQ high value add products,
- Providing samples to potential off-takers to allow product customization, and
- Planning the deployment of commercial – scale production systems (PUREVAP™ QRR 4.0) capable of producing 2,500 tonnes per year of high purity silicon material.
“With the PUREVAP™ GEN3 QRR pilot plant functional, HPQ is ready to disrupt Silicon manufacturing, an industry that still relies on a traditional process developed in 1899 to make silicon. The PUREVAP™ QRR pilot plant could not have come online at a more opportune time. Demand for traditional silicon is estimated to exceed 3.8 million tonnes by 20253. This represents an addressable market worth over US$ 10 billion based on historical average selling price for 5.5.3 Si (98.5% Si) of US$2,600 per Tonne3, or over US$ 38 billion based on the average spot price for 5.5.3 Si of US$10,000 per Tonne obtained during Q4 2021 and Q1 20224. These numbers do not include demand that is about to come online for high purity silicon from the battery and high-performance material companies just as bottlenecks we had foreseen are now occurring in the silicon supply chain,” said Mr. Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ Silicon.
