IperionX Achieves Major Milestone With First Successful Titanium Furnace Production Run – Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction.
IperionX (NASDAQ: IPX, ASX: IPX) is pleased to announce the successful commissioning of the Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction (HAMRTM) furnace, marking the first titanium de-oxygenation production run at the Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia, U.S.A.
This first titanium de-oxygenation production run represents a key technological milestone for IperionX that underpins a breakthrough +60x increase in titanium production capacity.
Produced entirely from 100% scrap titanium (Ti-6Al-4V alloy, Grade 5 titanium), quality assessments confirmed a large reduction in oxygen levels from 3.42% to below 0.07%, far exceeding the ASTM standard requirement of 0.2% for Grade 5 titanium.
IperionX’s proprietary HAMR technologies offer a range of competitive advantages, including lower operating temperatures, reduced energy consumption, enhanced process efficiency, and accelerated production cycles – all achieved with lower capital investment intensity.
Over the coming months, IperionX will commission and optimize the supporting process equipment to achieve full system production capacity in Virginia, with end-to-end system operations expected in late Q4 2024.
Anastasios (Taso) Arima, CEO of IperionX, commented:
The IperionX team delivered an important technological and commercial milestone for the global titanium industry.
Over the last two years, we have successfully operated our pilot titanium production facility in Utah, producing high performance titanium products for customers and importantly – delivering first revenues for our company.
Today, we demonstrated that our HAMR technology works at commercial scale. We successfully increased the furnace production capacity by ~60x times and produced high performance titanium that exceeds industry quality standards.
IperionX’s patented technologies underpin long-term competitive advantages over the Kroll titanium production process – with lower energy consumption, lower capex, faster cycle times, higher product yields and the ability to utilize 100% scrap titanium or upgraded titanium minerals as feedstocks.
IperionX plans to expand the capacity of its Titanium Manufacturing Campus by adding modular, low-risk and low-cost HAMR furnaces. IperionX aims to be a leading U.S. titanium producer of +10,000 metric tons per annum by 2030.
Our goal is to re-shore the full titanium supply chain to the United States, at lower costs for our customers, and deliver the most sustainable titanium products on the market.”
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IperionX Achieves Major Milestone With First Successful Titanium Furnace Production Run – Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction. source
