Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) has expanded its push into next-generation battery technologies, securing exclusive worldwide rights to a Singapore-developed thermal management portfolio aimed at improving cooling efficiency in lithium-ion batteries, data centres and high-density electronics.
The company said it had completed a binding commercial licence agreement with NTUitive Pte Ltd, the innovation and enterprise arm of Nanyang Technological University, covering four technology disclosures including a granted US patent tied to two-phase cooling systems for batteries, GPUs and CPUs.
The agreement extends Critical Resources’ increasingly diversified downstream battery strategy beyond its traditional mining portfolio, which includes the Mavis Lake Lithium Project in Canada and tungsten exploration activities in New Zealand.
The company has spent recent months repositioning itself around battery and thermal management technologies, alongside ongoing work evaluating solid-state battery systems in the United States.
Under the new arrangement, Critical Resources gains exclusive worldwide rights for thermal management applications involving lithium-ion batteries and high-density computing infrastructure over a 10-year term. The total licence consideration is SGD$220,000, excluding patent cost recovery obligations, and no royalties are payable on future product sales.
Cooling systems target energy-intensive infrastructure
The licensed technology centres on a two-phase spray cooling system designed to improve heat dissipation in batteries and electronic components operating under heavy computational loads.
Instead of conventional liquid cooling or refrigeration systems, the process sprays a non-conductive dielectric fluid directly onto heat-generating components such as GPUs, CPUs or battery systems. The fluid evaporates on contact, absorbing heat before being condensed and recirculated in a sealed loop. According to the company, the system can operate using ambient-temperature cooling fluid without requiring mechanical chillers.
Critical Resources said the technology could be particularly relevant for high-density electronics infrastructure and data centres operating in warmer climates, where cooling costs can become a significant operational burden.
The company cited peer-reviewed studies from Applied Energy and Energy reporting a 25.8% reduction in total data centre energy consumption, a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratio of 1.08 compared with roughly 1.69 for conventional air-cooled systems, and a 7°C reduction in chip temperatures under full-load conditions.
Extending solid-state battery ambitions
Critical Resources said the thermal management portfolio would integrate with its broader solid-state battery evaluation program, which has been examining electrolyte conductivity, interface stability and cathode-electrolyte performance under elevated temperatures.
Managing director Tim Wither said heat management remained a key issue for battery safety and long-term cycle life as the company progressed its US-based development activities.
“This licence completes the option pathway flagged in our 30 April update,” Wither said. “The NTU portfolio connects to our existing solid-state battery development work in the US, where heat is a primary determinant of battery cycle life and safety.”
The licensed portfolio also includes a predictive thermal modelling system using Model Predictive Control (MPC), which dynamically adjusts cooling loads and energy use in real time. Critical Resources said the approach could potentially be applied to battery temperature management as part of integrated energy systems.
Capital-light development strategy
The company said it intended to continue pursuing a staged, milestone-based evaluation process rather than committing to large-scale development expenditure up-front.
A research collaboration agreement with NTU remains under discussion and would underpin the next phase of technical assessment and integration testing. Critical Resources said future expansion of the program would depend on technical and commercial validation milestones being achieved.
The agreement also includes a commercialisation milestone requiring a first product sale within three years of completing the planned research collaboration agreements, otherwise NTUitive may elect to convert the licence from exclusive to non-exclusive unless further terms are negotiated.