Iondrive (ASX:ION) is actively engaging with potential technological and commercial partners to help complete a Prefeasibility Study (PFS) for its Deep-Eutectic Solvent (DES) battery recycling technology.
The company, formerly called Southern Gold, has employed battery supply chain consulting firm Rho Motion to assist with the completion of the ‘comprehensive’ PFS.
The PFS is being undertaken to establish the optimum commercialisation path for the DES tech.
Completion of the PFS is scheduled for Q1 2024.
Meanwhile, Iondrive says the newly appointed interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for its subsidiary Iondrive Technologies, Ebbe Dommisse, is leading studies into the technical and commercial aspects of Iondrive’s other next-generation battery technologies.
The interim CEO is also in discussions with the company’s partner, the University of Adelaide.
Once these discussions are complete, Iondrive states it will move forward with ‘large-scale’ laboratory work and trials, which are the next steps in progressing its tech through to full-scale commercialisation.
The PFS has been designed to establish a method that could potentially improve upon current industry standards by focusing on the selective recovery of valuable metals.
The company confirms the PFS is inclusive of a technical review by engineering firm Lycopodium, focusing on DES process analysis, upstream feed material evaluation from an Australian supplier, and downstream eco-friendly waste treatment investigation.
Iondrive’s DES battery recycling technology is proposed to outperform conventional battery recycling processes at a lower cost.
The company notes the PFS aligns with its recent rebranding and its strategic focus on downstream battery technologies and exploration for minerals critical to the clean energy transition.
Dommisse says a potential partnership will scale this technology while the company pursues meaningful developments in the near future.
Iondrive is a critical minerals-focused explorer and battery technology commercialisation group whose assets include a wholly owned portfolio of rare earth element (REE), lithium, and precious metals exploration projects in South Korea.
As of 30 September, Iondrive had $2.536 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report. In October, however, the company pocketed roughly $600,000 from a research & development (R&D) tax incentive and another $300,000 from the sale of 25 million shares in LSE-listed Bluebird Merchant Ventures (BMV).
Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au
Images: Iondrive
