PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (TSX:PYR, OTCQX:PYRGF) announced that it has reacquired the intellectual property rights to its PUREVAP Nano Silicon Reactor (NSiR) technology from HPQ Silicon on a no-cost basis.
The company, a leader in the development and commercialization of advanced plasma processes and sustainable solutions to reduce greenhouse gases, designed and developed the PUREVAP NSiR process on behalf of HPQ Silicon subsidiary HPQ Nano Silicon Powders.
It uses different purities of silicon as feedstock to make a wide range of spherical silicon nano- and micro-powders and wires, for use across various applications including as a possible replacement metal in lithium-ion batteries.
Per a development and purchase agreement between PyroGenesis and HPQ Nano Silicon Powders, all rights for the PUREVAP NSiR were assigned to HPQ Nano Silicon Powders on the condition that should it choose not to commercialize the technology, the rights would revert to PyroGenesis at no additional cost.
The company said that the development of technology to produce nano-silicon aligns with its focus on commodity security and optimization, where the recovery of metals and production optimization can drive output, maximize raw materials, and improve the availability of critical minerals.
“Nano silicon is still in its infancy, and so is the understanding of its usefulness,” PyroGenesis CEO P Peter Pascali said in a statement.
“Reacquiring the intellectual property related to the PUREVAP NSiR allows us to continue to explore the full spectrum of possibilities for this metal.”