Neometals Ltd and fellow ASX-listed Mineral Resources have announced that their 70:30 joint venture company, Reed Advanced Materials (RAM), has inked a three-year collaboration agreement with Italy’s Industrie De Nora and De Nora’s Japanese subsidiary De Nora Permelec.
De Nora is the world's largest manufacturer of insoluble electrodes, including anodes, cathodes and catalytic coatings. It is a recognised global leader in electrochemical technologies, which include its CECHLO electrolysis solutions, which the company will integrate with RAM's patented ELi Process.
De Nora’s proprietary system relies on advanced ion-exchange membrane technology and coated titanium-based anodes for efficient, cost-effective and sustainable production across a wide range of industrial applications. The technology also offers optional lithium salt-splitting pathways, opening a direct route to producing battery-grade materials.
Neometals’ Eli process is a direct electrolytic method that converts lithium chloride brines - or hard-rock-derived solutions - into high-purity battery-grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate. The process aims to lower lithium production costs and reduce environmental impact compared to conventional production routes.
The partnership will involve designing, building and commissioning a pilot plant to integrate their respective technologies, with continuous pilot-scale operations and validation at an end-user site, likely in Argentina.
De Nora will supply the electrolysis system, which will comprise the electrolytic stack, the balance-of-plant, safety and controls systems. At the same time, RAM will manage brine purification/conditioning, integration, crystallisation and plant oversight.
Each party will retain its own pre-existing IP, with the new foreground IP owned by the contributing party. Funding will be self-borne for the respective scopes, with future equipment supply to be handled under separate commercial terms.
If the pilot plant performs as hoped, it is expected to unlock good-faith talks on full commercial deployment, creating a win-win for both sides. That pathway could see De Nora emerge as the preferred electrolysis supplier for future ELi plants, while RAM actively recommends De Nora’s technology to ELi customers under agreed commercial terms.
Reed Advanced Materials director Christopher Reed said: “Partnering with a global electrochemical leader such as De Nora is an important step in maturing the ELi Process to commercial readiness. The proposed collaboration aligns a best-in-class electrolysis provider with our proprietary lithium process, with a clear focus on designing, installing, and operating a fully integrated lithium hydroxide Pilot Plant on an industrial site, thus building a foundation for future commercial plants.”
With the ink still drying on the agreement, the parties will now finalise pilot engineering, milestones, procurement and on-site work, while Neometals will provide an update on material progress.
Neometals says this technological collaboration highlights the accelerating interest in innovative, sustainable lithium refining technologies amid surging demand for lithium batteries.
It also aligns with urgent global supply-chain diversification efforts, driven by ongoing concerns about China's dominance in lithium processing, as the nation controls the majority of global lithium refining capacity.
De Nora’s chief marketing and business development officer, Luca Buonerba, said his company’s agreement with Neometals represents a further step in building its portfolio of solutions targeting the lithium value chain.
The new alliance is timely, as Western nations, including Australia via its new $1.2 billion Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve, are pushing to develop alternative, reliable, and enduring critical commodity sources through partnerships and incentives.
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By Doug Bright
