- PyroGenesis (PYR) is now commissioning HPQ’s (HPQ) GEN3 PUREVAP quartz reduction reactor pilot plant
- The plant seeks to validate the reactor’s one-step transformation of quartz into high-purity silicon metal at reduced costs, energy input and carbon footprint
- The process will potentially allow for a 20 per cent cost advantage compared to traditional methods
- The news comes at a time of silicon shortages due to an abundance of economically unviable producers
- PyroGenesis Canada designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes advanced plasma processes and sustainable solutions
- HPQ-Silicon Resources is a Quebec-based company that offers silica- and silicon-based solutions to battery and electric vehicle manufacturers
- PyroGenesis (PYR) closed down by 1.86 per cent trading at $4.75 per share
- HPQ-Silicon (HPQ) closed up by 3.13 per cent trading at $0.66 per share
PyroGenesis (PYR) is commissioning HPQ’s (HPQ) GEN3 PUREVAP quartz reduction reactor pilot plant.
After COVID-19 related delays, the last missing component – the power supply – has arrived at PyroGenesis’ Montreal facility to bring the pilot plant online.
The plant seeks to validate the reactor’s one-step transformation of quartz into high-purity silicon metal at reduced costs, energy input and carbon footprint.
The central advantage of the process is the continuously operating carbothermic process, resulting in the early removal of impurities without the need for extremely pure feedstock.
The process requires 4.5 MT of raw material to make 1 MT of silicon, versus 6 MT for conventional methods, which potentially allows for a 20 per cent cost advantage.
Silicon is a strategic energy metal needed to meet global economic decarbonization goals in the coming decades. It’s in high demand as feedstock for polysilicon for electronics and solar power, the batteries sector and other industrial applications at a time of increasingly short supply.
The shortage resulted from energy-intensive plants which found it economically unviable to return online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The scenario creates a need for new greenfield projects to meet demand, positioning PUREVAP technology to capture market share.
Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO of HPQ-Silicon, stated,
“HPQ has been at the forefront of low-cost green silicon innovation developments since 2015, and with the commissioning of the GEN3 PUREVAP QRR pilot plant, our timing couldn’t be better.
With ESG principles playing an active role in materials sourcing, the world is waking up to the difficulty of securing the ESG compliant silicon needed to meet its renewable energy goals.
The reality of chronic underinvestment in new technologies, combined with the offshoring of silicon production capacity, has created a massive opportunity for HPQ and its PUREVAP QRR process, as we are the only company to bring to market a new process to make silicon that is perfectly suited to the new demands and realities of the silicon market.”
PyroGenesis Canada designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes advanced plasma processes and sustainable solutions.
HPQ-Silicon Resources is a Quebec-based company that offers silica- and silicon-based solutions to battery and electric vehicle manufacturers.
PyroGenesis (PYR) closed down by 1.86 per cent trading at $4.75 per share.
HPQ-Silicon (HPQ) closed up by 3.13 per cent trading at $0.66 per share.