Sydney-headquartered high-purity alumina specialist, AlphaHPA has received a $75 million (USD 52.7 million) National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRF) investment in the company toward delivery of its HPA First Project, which will supply critical materials for semiconductors and lithium-ion battery manufacturing.
Under construction in Gladstone, Queensland, approximately 520 kilometres north of Brisbane, the NRFC investment is a cornerstone commitment in a $225 million funding round, acting as a catalyst to successfully crowd in a further $150 million from institutional investors, which included on-going support from Orica Limited and Australia Super to complete the raise.
Image: AlphaHPA
Alpha HPA’s Managing Director Rob Williamson said high purity Alumina is a critical input into semiconductors, lithium-ion batteries and pharmaceutical manufacturing, where ultra-high purity materials are essential for performance, safety and reliability.
“Our Gladstone HPA First Project positions Australia as a trusted supplier into diversified global supply chains,” Williamson said.
“NRFC’s investment is a strong endorsement of Alpha HPA’s strategy, technology and role in building sovereign manufacturing capability in Australia.”
Designed to operate on 100% renewable energy, Alpha HPA’s Smart SX Technology process uses established solvent extraction, re-purposed to the highly selective extraction of Al3+ cations from an aluminium-loaded liquor.
The company says it transforms aluminium loaded organic (solvent) through two crystallisation steps into an intermediary product that can be calcined to high-purity alumina (HPA) with benign off-gases.
The loaded organic stream can be directed to any acid stream to generate 5N+ purity aluminium precursors (salts), or 4N+ boehmite or alumina. The process recycles close to 100% of its process reagents and process streams.
Image: AlphaHPA
“We are now in the supply chain for semiconductors for AI at small volumes with production from our Stage One facility thanks to the technological advantage our unique process offers over our competitors.” Mr Williamson said.
“The unique selling point of our materials is what underpins customer demand and positions Alpha HPA as a long-term supplier of choice into these expanding, critical global markets.”
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