PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (TSX:PYR, NASDAQ:PYR) said its partner HPQ Silicon has successfully validated about 80% of the key project milestones in its ongoing PUREVAP Gen3 Quartz Reduction Reactor (QRR) pilot plant project which is evaluating its one-step transformation process for quartz into high-purity silicon.
The company highlighted milestones including achieving 99.5% silicon purity (2N) from the outset, a level that it noted exceeds the best commercially available purity threshold.
It has also scaled up production 2,500 times from PUREVAP Gen2 QRR, demonstrated the semi-continuous batch production capability of the reactor, and achieved one-step production of 3N plus silicon or battery-grade silicon.
PyroGenesis said to successfully achieve silicon pour, it, as the project’s technology provider, enhanced the Gen3 QRR design in September 2023, which was implemented to improve the fluidity of liquid silicon at the reactor’s base.
PyroGenesis said it also made updates to the system, including improving the QRR crucible design to minimize silicon contamination during the pouring process.
It has informed HPQ that the modified crucible will be delivered to the testing facility this week, and the silicon pour should be completed the following week.
“The key milestones reached to date by Gen3 QRR are demonstrations of how the HPQ PUREVAP QRR process is progressing and is on the path to modernize the production of high-purity Silicon,” HPQ Silicon CEO Bernard Tourillon said in a statement.
“Our technology has the potential to transform a century-old industrial process – known for its significant CO2 emissions – into an efficient, scalable, and low carbon manufacturing process.”
PyroGenesis, a high-tech company, is a leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes and sustainable solutions which reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and are economically attractive alternatives to conventional “dirty” processes.
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