IperionX is building the world’s largest 100% recycled titanium powder production facility

IperionX has completed the detailed engineering design for a planned Titanium Demonstration Facility (TDF) with a production capacity of 125 metric tons per year (“tpa”), which was announced in September 2022. A Technical and Economic Assessment was also created for the expansion of the facility with the first 1.125 tpa Commercial Titanium Plant (TCF-1) to be built at the Southern Virginia Technology Park in Halifax County, Virginia, USA.

TDF and TCF-1 will use hydrogen-assisted metallothermic reduction (HAMR) technologies to produce titanium powder. Upgrading the TCF-1 to a capacity of 1.125 tpa will enable IperionX to achieve the world’s highest capacity in the production of recycled titanium powder. It will also be the only titanium production plant that uses 100% of titanium metal waste as a raw material. It will also be the only such facility with zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions and the lowest carbon intensity of any commercial titanium powder product.

It is expected that TDF will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2023 and will reach operational readiness by the end of the first quarter of 2024, with the assumption of achieving a production rate of 125 tpa by the third quarter of 2024. The implementation of the TDF still depends on the successful approval of the management board for the final investment decision, which is expected in Q3 2023.

TDF is expected to initially produce about 15 tpa of spherical titanium powder and about 110 tpa of angular titanium powder. IperionX then plans to install additional facilities at the plant to allow operational flexibility to produce 125 tpa of 100% angular titanium powder or 100% spherical titanium powder for an additional capital cost of $6.9 million. The projected cash cost for the production of 125 tpa spherical titanium powder in TDF is approximately $72 per kg.

The higher-capacity TCF-1 plant could be operational by Q4 2025 if orders for long lead times are placed in Q3 2024. TCF-1 is to be designed to produce 1.125 tpa angular or spherical titanium powder. The capital costs associated with this expansion will be approximately $70 million, of which approximately $48 million will be needed for long-lead orders, and the remaining $22 million will be needed when starting further production in 2025.

Assuming a conservative spherical titanium powder price of approximately $130/kg (compared to the current estimated market price of approximately $200/kg) and using key operating assumptions, the TCF-1 has the potential to generate approximately $145 million in revenue and EBITDA at around $100 million in 2026.

Source: www.businesswire.com