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Lithium Universe Limited (referred to as "Lithium Universe" or the "Company," ASX: "LU7") is pleased to announce that as part of its strategy to address the Lithium conversion capacity gap in the North American market, the company has successfully executed an option agreement (Option Agreement) to acquire a commercial property strategically located within the Bécancour Waterfront Industrial Park (BWIP). The site is Lot 22 of the Parc industriel et portuaire de Bécancour, Bécancour, Québec, Canada, with an area estimated to be 276,423 square metres (the Site).
Highlights
- Strategy for closing the North American lithium processing gap
- Secured prime industrial property in the Bécancour Waterfront Industrial Park (BWIP)
- Strategic location, hydroelectricity, gas, road, rail, and spodumene import facilities
- The site has the capability for three 16,000 tpa Lithium Carbonate refineries
- Located within 1km of General Motors/POSCO Cathode factory and Ford/EcoPro BM Cathode factory and 140km from Northvolt’s EV battery facility at Saint-Basile-le-Grand
- Integral component of the Québec Lithium Processing Hub (QLPH) Strategy
- Favourable terms including no option fee until July 2024 and option term of 3 years
- Acquisition is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals
- Land acquisition depends on Li Refinery project finance
- No funds are required to be raised for land acquisition
Video summary of the Company’s proposed Bécancour Lithium Refinery location: https://investorhub.lithiumuniverse.com/link/XyMO4r
Video Summary Bécancour Lithium Refinery location
Closing the Lithium Conversion Gap
The East Coast of North America is set to witness a substantial surge in battery manufacturing, with over 20 major battery manufacturers planning to deploy an estimated 900GW of battery capacity by 2028. By 2030, Georgia, Kentucky, and Michigan are poised to dominate electric vehicle (EV) battery production in the United States, joined by key players such as Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee. These states aim to collectively manufacture between 97 and 136 gigawatt hours of EV batteries annually. To meet the escalating demand for EVs, North America's EV battery manufacturing capacity will skyrocket from 55 gigawatt-hours in 2021 to nearly 1,000 gigawatt-hours by 2030, requiring an investment exceeding $40 billion. This strategic expansion is expected to support the production of 10 to 13 million all-electric vehicles annually by 2030, positioning the U.S. as a formidable global EV competitor. Additionally, Canada's recent focus on investing in battery plants, backed by collaborations with Volkswagen, Stellantis, LG Energy Solution, and Northvolt, aims to safeguard its auto sector, potentially creating 250,000 jobs and contributing $48 billion annually to the economy by 2030.
The industry encounters a significant challenge in establishing a reliable supply chain, especially due to limited access to lithium converters in North America. The region seeks to decrease dependence on China and Chinese companies, aligning with both commercial and national security goals. Presently, Chinese companies dominate the global market for lithium converters and refining capacity. Similarly, Canada, acknowledging the significance of energy security, has intensified efforts to reduce Chinese involvement in the sector as part of a "decoupling" or "de-risking" strategy, mirroring the actions taken by the United States. The issue lies in the scarcity of independent lithium converters planned for construction in North America, potentially stemming from a lack of expertise or a series of recent failures and delayed startups in the sector. A significant gap in lithium conversion and processing looms in North America. Assuming the planned battery manufacturing capacity of 900 GW by 2028, using a ratio of 850g lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per KWh, the Company estimates that 800,000t of LCE per annum will be required to satisfy demand in North America. The Lithium Universe strategy is to bridge this gap by leveraging a proven track record in constructing such converters, with the Lithium Dream team being crucial to the success of this strategy.
Figure 1: The Bécancour facility is proximal to approximately 25 new battery manufacturing and cathode facilities proposed to be in operation by the end of 2027 on the eastern seaboard of North America.
Option Agreement
The execution of the Option Agreement follows from the Company’s announcement that Hatch Ltd (Hatch) has been appointed to undertake an engineering study for the design of a multi-purpose battery-grade lithium carbonate refinery, which will form part of the Company Québec Lithium Processing Hub (QLPH) strategy. The BWIP is the preferred site for the Company's 16,000 tpa Lithium Carbonate Refinery, validated through a comprehensive location option study conducted by Hatch. Investissement Québec has played an integral role in supporting the Company in its objective to secure this strategic location for the Company’s QLPH strategy.
The execution of the Option Agreement for the Site is another important step in the Company’s fast-tracking strategy to become a producer of lithium in Quebec, Canada. The land acquisition hinges on securing project finance for the Lithium Refinery Project. The Company isn't required to raise funds specifically for buying the land. If the project finance for the Lithium Refinery Project falls through, the Company retains the option to withdraw from the agreement.
About the Site
The Company's Site is strategically situated in Bécancour, just south of Trois-Rivières, and is optimally positioned between Montreal and Québec City. Positioned near a major highway, the site seamlessly connects to the extensive North American highway network. Additionally, the facility benefits from daily service by the Canadian National Railway (CN), enabling cross-continental transportation from east to west and north to south, linking key ports on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The Port of Bécancour, operational all year-round, boasts a water depth of 10.67 meters, accommodating vessels of varying sizes. It features a pier extending 1,130 meters into the St. Lawrence River, equipped with 5 berths and a roll-on/roll-off ramp, further solidifying its strategic fit as the location for the Company’s proposed Lithium Carbonate Refinery due to its ability to easily access international spodumene supply whilst the Canadian internal spodumene supply develops.
The Site stands at the intersection of hydro-electrical distribution networks, making the BWIP a highly reliable centre for low-cost hydroelectric power in Québec. In addition, the park features a co-generation plant generating 550 MW, reinforcing its appeal to the Company. Additionally, the BWIP benefits from a robust infrastructure, including a 2400 kPa high-pressure line and an underground distribution network, ensuring a seamless supply to user companies. Moreover, the park offers access to both potable and industrial water, as well as advanced industrial waste facilities.
Furthermore, the Bécancour Facility hosts the General Motors (GM) and Korea-based POSCO Chemicals’ new CAD$500 million cathode active material (CAM) factory forecasted for first production in 2025. In addition, the CAD$1.2 billion Ford/EcoPro BM Cathode factory with a proposed production of 45,000 tonnes of CAM per year and slated to start production in 2026 also is located within the BWIP. Both CAM factories have commenced construction mid-2023 are within 1km of the Company’s proposed Lithium Refinery location. Only 140km south- west of Bécancour and more recently, Swedish battery developer and manufacturer Northvolt is set to build a wholly integrated lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery gigafactory in Québec, Canada. This facility will have an annual cell manufacturing capacity of 60 gigawatt hours (GWh).
This article includes content from Lithium Universe Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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Lithium Universe
Overview
Despite the weakened demand and the subsequent price decline in 2023, demand for lithium is still on track to significantly outstrip supply by 2030. Many nations continue to ramp up initiatives to augment their domestic supplies of lithium and other critical minerals.
The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, for instance, establishes a comprehensive framework for the development of sustainable, responsibly sourced domestic materials. Beyond that, its goals include supporting economic growth, promoting climate action, advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and communities, fostering workplace inclusivity and enhancing global partnerships. The US Inflation Reduction Act has a similar objective, with provisions such as sustainability tax credits and reduced renewable energy costs.
Through its highly prospective Apollo lithium project in James Bay, Québec, Lithium Universe (ASX:LU7) is well-positioned to leverage the expected demand for lithium over the next decade. Québec is rapidly emerging as a major destination for lithium production, setting the stage for Lithium Universe to potentially become a significant producer not just for the North American market, but globally.
A vertically integrated exploration and development company, Lithium Universe is led by the renowned lithium development veteran Iggy Tan. Widely regarded as a trailblazer in Australia's lithium industry, Tan spearheaded Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY), establishing it as one of the country's leading lithium mining companies. Working with a highly experienced team, Tan now aims to replicate that success with Lithium Universe.
Tan is joined by a number of esteemed mining professionals, including leading technical expert Dr. Jingyuan Liu. Liu was responsible for overseeing the construction and commissioning of Galaxy Resources' Mt Cattlin Spodumene project along with the world-renowned Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate Plant.
The team also includes: Patrick Scallan, a seasoned veteran with 25 years of management experience at the largest lithium hard rock mine in the world; Alex Hanly, who brings more than a decade of experience in capital delivery and operational management for mining, oil and gas, and manufacturing; Huy Nguyen, who helped design and construct Mt Cattlin's Spodumene plant; and Roger Pover, former plant manager at Mt Cattlin.
Lithium Universe's strategy for Apollo is simple: quickly identify a resource and establish a producing mine to facilitate the company’s vertically integrated mine-to-refinery vision. The company is also pursuing the establishment of a lithium processing hub in the region to support operations at Apollo.
An engineering study on the company’s Québec Lithium Processing Hub (QLPH) multi-purpose battery-grade lithium carbonate refinery is underway. Hatch, the company conducting the study, has finalized the design flowsheet and draft site layout for the refinery. The QLPH is rated at 16,000 tons per annum (tpa) with an assumed feed grade of spodumene at or around 5.5 percent lithium oxide. The final lithium carbonate product should be at least 99.5 percent and 99.9 percent grade. Target plant availability is 84 percent and target overall recovery rate for lithium is 85 percent.Company Highlights
- Lithium Universe is a vertically integrated company with a highly prospective lithium resource in Québec's James Bay region.
- The company is led by lithium exploration and development veteran Iggy Tan, who seeks to replicate his successes at Galaxy Resources with Lithium Universe.
- Other significant names in the mining industry are also part of the management team, representing multiple decades of combined experience in mining exploration, development, production and operations.
- Lithium Universe's flagship project, Apollo, is highly prospective and well-suited for the company's integrated mine-to-refinery strategy.
- The company's initial public offering was extremely impressive, starting at 2 cents per share and eventually reaching 6.3 cents and raising its maximum subscription of $4.5 million.
Key Project
Apollo Lithium Project
Spanning over 240 square kilometres, the highly prospective Apollo lithium project comprises 466 claims and is associated with a significant geological dataset. Located in the Eeyou Istchee Baie-James Municipality in northwest Québec, the property is in the same greenstone belt as Patriot Battery Metals' (ASX:PMT,TSXV:PMET,OTCQX:PMETF) Corvette lithium project, which has a maiden resource of 109.2 million tons at 1.42 percent lithium oxide. Apollo's tenement package encompasses 17 known pegmatite outcrops.
Project Highlights:
- Project Geology: Apollo displays mineralisation typical of greenstone belts in the La Grande sub-province, with spodumene pegmatites hosted by mafic metavolcanic rocks and pegmatitic granite Vieux Comptoir. Property geology consists primarily of Mesoarchean and Neoarchean intrusions.
- Strong Mineral Potential: Apollo is located 29 kilometres southeast of the Corvette Lithium Project and 28 kilometres East of Winsome Resources' (ASX:WR1,FSE:4XJM, OTCQB:WRSLF) Adina Project. It displays similar mineralisation, magnetism and geology to the two projects, both of which recently returned incredibly promising results:
- Corvette Lithium: 156 metres at 2.12 percent lithium oxide at CV5
- Adina: 107 metres at 1.34 percent lithium oxide from 2.3 metres
The company has completed its 2023 summer/fall exploration work programme at the Apollo and received all the final soil laboratory analyses. A drilling strategy is in place for 2024, along a major east-west trending fault shear corridor feature that extends from the Apollo project to Winsome Resources’ Adina Lithium project to the east. Some potential targets have been generated that may be incorporated into a future maiden drilling programme.
Management Team
Iggy Tan — Non-executive Chair
Iggy Tan, a trailblazer of the modern lithium industry, was one of the first Australian mining executives to identify the significant opportunity within the emerging lithium-ion battery sector when he spearheaded Galaxy Resources Limited. Tan is looking to replicate that success with Lithium Universe, having built Galaxy’s Mt Cattlin Spodumene Project and the downstream Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate project. He also acquired the James Bay Spodumene Project in Canada and the Sal de Vida Brine Project in Argentina for Galaxy.
When Tan started at Galaxy, the company’s market capitalization was less than AU$10 million. It rose to AU$2.5 billion when the company merged with Orocobre Limited in August 2021. Tan's previous experience working with lithium dates back to the early 1990s when he briefly managed the Greenbushes Lithium Mine and commissioned the first lithium carbonate plant for Gwalia Consolidated.
Tan has over 30 years of chemical and mining experience and has served as executive director for a number of ASX-listed companies. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern Cross, a Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is currently CEO and managing director of Altech Batteries Limited.
Alex Hanly — Chief Executive Officer
Alex Hanly has over 10 years of experience in capital delivery and operational management for publicly listed companies within the mining, oil & gas, and manufacturing industries in Australia and Africa. Over the last three years, Hanly held the role of chief executive officer of ASX-listed gold company Polymetals Resources (ASX:POL). He was responsible for the successful IPO of the company, the operational management and the efficient execution of the fast-track exploration strategy.
Hanly has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Master of Business Administration specialising in global project management.
Patrick Scallan — Non-executive Director
Patrick Scallan’s extensive experience in the lithium industry is a valuable addition to the LGX board. With over 25 years of management experience at the world-class Greenbushes Mine, he is a seasoned veteran. Greenbushes is the largest lithium hard rock mine globally and also hosts the highest-grade ore body in the world. This makes Greenbushes a unique anomaly, as no other lithium deposit worldwide compares to it.
Scallan oversaw the mine’s many expansions, increasing annual output from 200,000 in 1997 to 1.4 million tpa today, and navigated numerous ownership changes during his tenure. He is a specialist in hard rock mining and spodumene concentrating, with downstream relationships with major spodumene converters worldwide.
Scallan is also highly skilled in managing local community relationships, having acted as shire councillor for nearly 20 years during his time at Greenbushes, receiving his Order of Australia Medal for his community and local government contribution. His previous roles include management positions at Capel and Eneabba Mineral Sands in Western Australia and Western Deep Levels Gold Mine in South Africa.
Dr. Jingyuan Liu — Non-executive director
Dr Jingyuan Liu is widely regarded as a leading technical expert in the lithium industry. He previously held the position of general manager of development and technologies at Galaxy Resources, where he was responsible for overseeing the construction and commissioning of the Mt Cattlin Spodumene Project and the world-renowned Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate plant. Liu also played a key role in designing the flow sheet for the Sal de Vida brine project.
Following his work with Galaxy, he has acted as a special adviser to various lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide projects globally, including the Lithium Hydroxide Plant operated by Tianqi in Kwinana, Western Australia.
Liu has over 30 years’ experience in project management, process and equipment design for minerals processing and the chemicals, non-ferrous metals, iron & steel and energy industries, both in Australian and internationally. He was awarded a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Newcastle, Australia and has worked in senior chemical engineering roles with leading companies such as Hatch Engineering and Metso Minerals in Australia and Malaysia.
He is currently chief technology officer for Altech Batteries (ASX:ATC), developing high capacity silicon anode lithium-ion batteries.
Gernot Abl — Executive Director
Gernot Abl was previously a strategic managing director with vast experience in business management, operations and investment for some of the fastest growing industries in the world. After gaining over 15 years of corporate experience, he led the only pure esports play listed on the ASX, Esports Mogul Limited. Abl has a proven background in business management and commercial intuition, initially from working as a management consultant for both Deloitte Consulting and Deloitte Corporate Finance in Perth and Melbourne.
Abl also led the restructure and turnaround of a financially distressed ASX-listed media company and currently holds directorships for a range of start-up companies, offering corporate advisory, project management and commercial negotiation advice to multiple businesses. He has a degree in law and commerce with honours in finance and accounting from the University of Western Australia.
Fadi Diab — Non-executive Director
Fadi Diab was the former head of global payroll at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. There, he managed the global payroll team, which is responsible for 55,000 employees across 15 countries. Diab is an accomplished senior executive recognised for leveraging strong team leadership and development to drive forward progress.
He has a background in human resources, having held the role of executive human resource manager at the Commonwealth Bank, and currently runs an investor relations company.
Diab has a Bachelor of Business, Human Resource Management, and Industrial Relations from the University of Western Sydney and a Master of Business Management from University of Technology Sydney.
John Sobolewski - Chief Financial Officer
John Sobolewski’s experience in the lithium industry offers another valuable addition to the LU7 dream team. At Galaxy Resources, he played a pivotal role during the feasibility, funding, construction and operation phases of the Mt Cattlin Spodumene mine and Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate refinery. He was also crucial in establishing teams and systems in Australia and internationally. His experience in financial modelling and debt modelling for both projects will be critical in Lithium Universe, completing definitive feasibility studies of the Québec Lithium Processing Hub concentrator and lithium carbonate refinery projects.
Sobolewski is a chartered accountant and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. His previous roles include managing director and CEO with Mintrex, CFO and company secretary with Mintrex, Galaxy Resources Limited and Vital Metals Limited, financial controller and company secretary with Croesus Mining NL, and group accountant and company secretary with Titan Resources NL.
Vincent John Fayad — Joint Company Secretary
Vincent John Fayad is a chartered accountant with over 40 years of experience in corporate finance, international M&A, accounting and advisory-related services primarily undertaken by mid-tier accounting firm PKF. In 2016, he established his own firm, Vince Fayad & Associates, to provide accounting and advisory services within Australia and overseas.
Over the last 25 years, Fayad has spent a significant amount of time advising on various transactions, predominantly related to the mining and exploration industries and providing accounting and corporate secretarial experience to mining exploration companies.
Fayad is currently an executive director and joint company secretary of Astute Metals NL (ASX:ASE) and joint company secretary of Greenvale Energy (ASX:GRV). He is also a non-executive director of Nexon Asia Pacific, a telecommunications company, controlled by private equity group EQT.
Kurt Laney — Joint Company Secretary
Kurt Laney is an experienced chartered accountant specialising in the provision of advisory, consultancy, taxation and corporate secretarial services. Laney is currently an associate director of Vince Fayad and Associates, where he provides accounting and taxation services to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, large family-owned businesses and multinational entities.
Laney is also the joint company secretary and CFO of Greenvale Energy Ltd (ASX:GRV) and Astute Metals NL (ASX:ASE), along with several unlisted public companies primarily focused on the tech and mining industries. He has previously served as the company secretary of Polymetals Resources (ASX:POL).
Justin Rivers — Head of Geology
Justin Rivers possesses more than 20 years of senior executive, technical and commercial experience in Africa, Australia, Asia, Arctic, Middle East, North America and South America in the major and junior space, with a particular focus on Iron Ore and Gold. He has a well-tenured strategic and tactical approach to the mining industry with intimate commercial, business development and M&A experience in Tier-1, publicly listed and private equity environments.
Prior to joining Lithium Universe Limited, Rivers held the position of executive director and CEO of Mauritian domiciled private equity company Convertible Resources, driving strategic development of its gold projects in the Siguiri region of northeast Guinea. He has a Bachelor of Science (first class honours) majoring in geology and environmental science from the University of Tasmania.
Terry Stark — Head of Mining
Terry Stark was previously managing director - resources division for Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY), where he was responsible for all of Galaxy’s mineral resources assets such as exploration and mine operations. Stark oversaw the Mt Cattlin construction and subsequent successful start-up. He also managed the Galaxy James Bay project and had a good relationship with the local Cree Nation.
A veteran mining engineer, Stark holds a Bachelor of Applied Science specialising in mining engineering.
John Loxton - Head of Lithium Carbonate Refinery
John Loxton's lithium experience commenced in 2010 with work on the Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate Plant EPCM for Galaxy Resources in China where his responsibilities initially were at a Sponsor level, and further into the project. He was the project manager for the final stages of construction and commissioning. In 2019, Loxton was engaged by Tianqi Lithium as head of projects for the execution of their investment in a lithium hydroxide processing plant in Kwinana, Western Australia. He managed the commissioning of the first train achieving the first product in 2021 and undertook execution planning and establishing a project team for an identical second train in 2022. Loxton is a project manager with over 45 years of experience across a diverse range of energy, industrial, process, civil, and major infrastructure projects.
Roger Pover — Head of Processing
Roger Pover was previously the Mt Cattlin plant manager for Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY). He was part of the commissioning and start up team and operated the plant for many years. Pover also directed all optimisation modifications made at Mt Cattlin.
Pover is a veteran in the lithium industry, having commenced his career at Greenbushes Lithium mine in the early 90s. He has a 45-year career in the mining and chemical processing industries involving mineral sands, alumina refining, lithium, iron ore, tantalum minerals and tin production.
Huy Nguyen — Engineering Manager
Huy Nguyen has been seconded from Mintrex to act as Lithium Universe Limited’s engineering client representative. Mintrex was the lead engineering company that designed and constructed (together with DRA Global) the Mt Cattlin Spodumene Plant.
Nguyen was part of the construction supervision when Mt Cattlin was built, so he is experienced with not only the design but also the construction process that delivered a project on time and on budget.
Nguyen has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Curtin University, Master of Business Administration and a member of Engineer Australia.
Victoria Vargas - Director, Lithium Universe Holdings (Canada)
Victoria Vargas brings to Lithium Universe (Holdings) more than 25 years of experience in the North American capital markets, with a significant focus on the Canadian mineral sector. She began her career at Kinross Gold Corporation and joined Alamos Gold in 2004. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in enhancing investor exposure and facilitating the company's transition from the TSX Venture to the TSX. Before joining Alamos Gold, Vargas worked for H2O Innovation, a Québec-based company focused on providing best-in-class technologies and services for the water and wastewater treatment industry.
Analyst Firm Targets Share Price Upside for Lithium Universe as Refinery Plans Ramp Up
“Drawing on its expertise, LU7’s Dream Team is working on closing the massive gap in downstream lithium processing in North America by building a 16,000 tpa lithium carbonate refinery in Quebec, for which the company is rapidly completing a DFS (definitive feasibility study,” said East Coast Research analyst Behzad Golmohammadi in his report.
Led by lithium pioneer Iggy Tan, Lithium Universe has assembled a team of lithium industry experts that can deliver on the company’s goal to strengthen North America’s lithium supply chain. Through this expertise, Lithium Universe aims to close a widening lithium processing gap in North America, through a planned 16,000-tpa lithium carbonate refinery in Quebec, Canada, the analyst report cited. Lithium Universe is currently undertaking a definitive feasibility study for the processing plant.
China currently controls around 60 percent of the global lithium refining capacity for batteries, a huge driver for North American efforts to a lithium supply chain for the region.
“Western governments have come up with policies and strategic plans to support the expansion of their lithium refining capacities. However, the biggest challenge here is a lack of expertise that has led to a series of recent failures and delayed startups in the sector. This is where LU7’s Dream Team shines with its proven track record of successfully constructing and commissioning such projects,” the analyst report said.
Report highlights:
- Lithium Universe’s “dream team” of lithium industry experts led by Iggy Tan is working on closing the massive gap in downstream lithium processing in North America by building a 16,000 tpa lithium carbonate refinery in Quebec, Canada, for which the company is rapidly completing a definitive feasibility study.
- Lithium Universe plans to replicate the Jiangsu Lithium Carbonate Refinery, using the same engineering manager (Hatch) and the key executives who built the world-class Jiangsu Refinery.
- China’s dominance in the global lithium supply chain has pushed governments in North America to develop and strengthen a secure supply chain outside China, with strategic support for projects that expand North America’s lithium refining capacity.
- East Coast Research has valued Lithium Univers at AU$0.047 per share in a base-case scenario and AU$0.058 per share in a bull-case scenario, solely based on the Quebec lithium carbonate refinery project, and excluding the company’s prospective exploration assets or its spodumene concentrator project in Quebec.
For the full analyst report, click here.
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Forward Water Technologies
Overview
Forward Water Technologies (TSXV:FWTC) is helping lithium mining companies and other industries reduce their environmental impact through its innovative wastewater treatment technology that enables industrial operations to reduce liquid waste volume by up to 95 percent.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings continue to be a key business strategy for organizations as they impact public perception and partnership possibilities. For water-intensive industries, such as mining, sustainable wastewater management is critical.
Transformative wastewater technologies are critical for both businesses and the world’s population. In fact, unless sufficient progress is achieved, UNICEF and WHO estimate that 1.6 billion people will be without access to safe drinking water by 2030, and 2.8 billion will be without access to safe sanitation and hygiene. Water treatment technologies can disrupt current trends and improve global access to safe drinking water.
Through its Forward Osmosis (FO) technology, Forward Water is providing an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional wastewater disposal. Traditionally, wastewater disposal requires transporting untreated wastewater for deep well disposal or high-intensity thermal treatment.
Forward Water’s FO system is installed at the client site, and wastewater is treated to reduce waste volume and produce valuable clean water for reuse in the manufacturing process. Then, the significantly reduced volume of wastewater is transported and disposed of, significantly saving on transportation and disposal costs.
The FO technology targets three massive sectors: industrial wastewater, mining and food manufacturing. Forward Water’s unique and patented FO technology achieves high-rate water extraction within a low-energy continuous process. The process reduces waste and allows up to 95 percent water recovery, ready for reuse.
Forward Water’s Li-FO™ technology is ideal for lithium-brine mining operations, allowing mines to “fine tune” brine sources to improve concentration by up to 20 times. This results in improved recovery and makes lower-concentration brines economically viable. Forward Water is currently embarking on an early development testing project to further evaluate and refine the technology’s viability in lithium mining.
In 2023, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Forward Water Technologies Inc., licensed specific intellectual property from FUJIFILM Corporation to solidify the protection of its water treatment technology platform.
CleanTech Lithium (AIM:CTL,Frankfurt:T2N,OTC:CTLHF) has contracted FWT to provide advisory services for the support and development of CleanTech Lithium's direct lithium extraction (DLE) process in Chile. The collaboration will use FWT’s industrial forward osmosis system in the hyper-concentrating of CleanTech Lithium's eluate and its conversion into battery-grade lithium carbonate through Conductive Energy's DLE process.
Howie Honeyman, CEO, explained in an interview how the company’s technology can improve lithium mining operations. “A lot of lithium being mined today around the world is coming from underground aquifers that store the lithium brine. The challenge is that the lithium is surrounded by other minerals and salts, requiring chemical ‘tweezers’ to pluck out that lithium. What we can do is, at multiple places in that process, we can concentrate that lithium-containing water stream, which makes it far easier for these miners to handle the volumes they need to extract that lithium.”
An experienced management team with technical expertise leads the company towards further refining and deploying its technology. The team includes experts in materials science, chemistry and engineering. Additional experts in corporate administration and financing round out the leadership team to lead the company toward its goals.
Company Highlights
- Forward Water Technologies has developed a patented wastewater treatment technology that reduces wastewater volume and improves reusability across multiple industries, including mining and food manufacturing.
- The company’s Forward Osmosis (FO) technology disrupts the traditional method of wastewater disposal by reducing the amount of waste that must be transported and disposed of, directly reducing costs.
- The FO technology also improves water reusability by up to 95 percent, reducing the expense of importing water for industrial processes.
- The Forward Water Technologies Li-FO™ process is applicable in the lithium mining sector by improving concentration by up to 20 times, allowing organizations to improve extraction efficiency.
- The company has partnered with a lithium-brine extraction operation to evaluate its Li-FO™ technology.
- Forward Water Technologies is in early negotiations to deliver an FWTC forward osmosis pilot system on-site in Chile to support a customer's lithium extraction process.
- Forward Water Technologies has licensed specific intellectual property from FUJIFILM Corporation to solidify the protection of its water treatment technology platform.
- The company has been contracted by CleanTech Lithium to provide advisory services for the support and development of CleanTech Lithium's direct lithium extraction processes in Chile.
- An experienced management team with a blend of relevant technical expertise leads the company toward refining and marketing its technology.
Key Project
Forward Osmosis Water Treatment
Forward Osmosis is a naturally occurring process in which water is spontaneously drawn across a membrane when one solution is higher in salt concentration than the other. The difference in salinity, known as the osmotic gradient, creates a low-energy water treatment process.
Forward Water Technologies has leveraged the naturally occurring process to innovate its patented, three-step FO technology, enabling a 95 percent wastewater reduction and 95 percent water recovery.
Project Highlights:
- Patented Three-Step Process: Forward Water Technologies FO process achieves low-energy and high-rate water extraction with a unique three-step design:
- Water Extraction: Water is drawn across the FO membrane into a salt draw solution. The combination of the patented draw solution and unique membrane “locks” the draw solution on one side of the membrane, creating a true closed-loop process.
- Water/Salt Separation: Next, a switchable water salt (SWS) achieves water/salt separation as low-grade heat is applied, and it phases from liquid to gas. As the gas leaves the solution, clean water is left behind. The energy necessary for this step is often found in many facilities in the form of waste heat.
- Salt Draw Reconcentration: Finally, as the gas leaves the solution, it is captured within the closed-loop system and is passively cooled, causing it to phase back into liquid form as an SWS. The SWS liquid is collected and recycled back to the front of the membranes in the water extraction step, creating a continuous process.
- Widely Applicable Water Treatment: The low-energy process allows organizations across several industries to improve water reclamation and reduce wastewater by up to 95 percent. Additionally, the process allows for up to 20 times concentration, making the process amenable to lithium-brine extraction and other potential applications.
- Significant Cost Savings: The primary value proposition for the FO process is cost reduction in wastewater transportation and disposal. With the process in place, more water is reclaimed for reuse in manufacturing, which reduces the raw volume of wastewater that must be transported and disposed of.
Management Team
Howie Honeyman - Chief Executive Officer and President
Dr. Howie Honeyman has 20 years of experience commercializing new technologies at Xerox, Cabot, E Ink, Natrix Separations and as former CTO of GreenCentre Canada. Honeyman commercialized high-capacity, high-throughput membranes for bioprocessing as SVP of Natrix Separations, which has since been acquired by Millipore-Sigma. Since 2015, Honeyman has been leading Forward Water to become a premier wastewater treatment solution. Honeyman is also an inventor of record on over 50 US patents and holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Toronto.
Michael Willetts - Chief Financial Officer
Michael Willetts has over 25 years in financial leadership roles primarily in manufacturing, from large multinational businesses to startups, both public and private. He previously worked as an engineer in the automotive industry before entering into finance at Ford Motor Company. Willets went on to progressively larger finance roles in several international automotive suppliers (Textron, GKN, DSM) and Canadian manufacturers (Armtec, Stronach International, AirBoss of America). Willetts is currently providing fractional CFO services through WD Numeric Corporate Services in the manufacturing, SaaS and cannabis industries. Willetts graduated with a BASc, BComm and MBA from the University of Windsor.
Wayne Maddever - Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Wayne Maddever received his Ph.D. in materials science engineering from the University of Toronto. Since 1985, he has held senior executive management positions with technically based businesses in start-up, turnaround or acquisition situations where his skills in change management have brought considerable success in the commercialization of new technologies. His experience in both private and public companies, domestically and internationally, spans a broad variety of industries, including bio and advanced materials, precision manufacturing, recycling, waste-to-energy and medical devices. He holds a number of patents in several fields. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. In addition to his duties as COO of Forward Water, he is currently portfolio manager at Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, one of the major shareholders of Forward Water.
Grant Thornley - VP Engineering Solution Sales
Grant Thornley is a business strategist with more than 25 years of experience. He has developed and grown international water/wastewater markets through innovative growth hacking techniques and processes, synergized with product development and positioning, data analytics and acceleration of go-to-market strategies through alliances and partnerships. Having expertise in chemical, mechanical and biological treatment processes as well as designing hundreds of municipal and industrial applications, Thornley brings a knowledge-to-action approach to helping clients solve problems and realize new opportunities in water reuse, energy conservation and CO2 reduction.
Leonard Seed - Director of Engineering & Operations
Leonard Seed has over 18 years of experience developing and commercializing new water and wastewater treatment technologies, primarily in a start-up environment. Seed is named as an inventor on over seven patents and has authored several publications. Seed is a professional engineer and has an MSc in environmental engineering from the University of Guelph. Leonard holds inventorship on seven US patents and is an instructor at Mohawk College teaching aspects of water treatment technologies and leading research efforts on forward osmosis.
Philip Jessop - Executive Research Director
Dr. Philip Jessop is a professor and Canada Research Chair of Green Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He also serves as the technical director of GreenCentre Canada and executive research director at Forward Water Technologies. After his Ph.D. (British Columbia, 1991) and a postdoctoral appointment (Toronto, 1992), he became a contract researcher in Japan working for R. Noyori (Nobel Prize 2001). As a professor at the University of California-Davis (1996-2003) and since then at Queen’s, he has studied green solvents and the chemistry of carbon dioxide. Distinctions include the NSERC Polanyi Award (2008), Killam Research Fellowship (2010), Canadian Green Chemistry & Engineering Award (2012), Eni Award (2013), Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada (2013), a Canada Research Chair Tier 1 (2013 to 2020), and the NSERC Brockhouse Prize (2019). He serves as chair of the editorial board for the journal Green Chemistry, has chaired three international conferences, and helped create GreenCentre Canada, a national center of excellence for the commercialization of green chemistry technologies. Forward Water is a spin-off company based on Dr. Jessop’s switchable solvents.
Quarterly Activities Report for the Period Ended 31 March 2024
Highlights
Solonópole Project, Ceará, Brazil
- Anomalous lithium values above 100 ppm (and up to 631 ppm) found in 383 soil samples within existing and new target areas.
- Integration and interpretation of these soil sample results with data from geophysics, geological mapping (138 line-km), trenching and RC drilling (~2,000m) further enhance prospectivity of existing and new targets.
- Combined datasets confirmed several swarms of pegmatite bodies striking in a NE-SW and E-W directions and identified new high priority areas.
- Nira interpreted to be the most prospective new target, with 180 soil samples of >100 ppm Li and as high as 524 ppm Li covering an area of at least 1km2.
- Nira also features 17 pegmatite outcrops with average widths of up to 30 meters and strike lengths from 200m to 600m.
- Planning for the next follow-up drilling campaign is underway.
Napperby Project, Northern Territory, Australia
- Oceana’s Napperby Project covers some of Arunta Province’s hottest granites plutons, the Wangala Granite (uranium) and Ennugan Mountains Granite (uranium/thorium).
- Both granite plutons show outstanding uranium/thorium ratios and are almost fully encapsulated within Napperby’s EL32836 and ELA32841.
- Follow-up exploration activities will target uranium and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in parallel with Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatites.
Corporate
- Experienced geologist and mining executive, Aidan Platel, appointed as non- executive director.
- Brazilian-based geologist, Mike Sousa, appointed as Exploration Manager and Competent Person.
- The Company remains well-funded with cash at 31 March of ~$2.67m.
OPERATIONS
Solonópole Project, Ceará State, Brazil
The Solonópole Project area is located in the state of Ceará, north-eastern Brazil and consists of ten (10) exploration permits covering approximately 124km2 (Figure 1), owned by Oceana’s subsidiary Ceará Litio. The project is approximately three to four hours by road from the state capital Fortaleza and deep-water port of Pecém, and is well serviced by sealed highways and high voltage electricity.
Figure 1: Solonópole Project permits and targets drilled in May – June 2023 (red dots)
Large-Scale Soil Sampling and Geological Mapping at Solonópole Lithium Project
The large-scale infill soil sampling program that commenced in March 2023 continued over the project area (Figure 2). The optimized sampling grids are along 200m spaced lines with 25m sampling stations, aligned north south to cut across all typical pegmatite strike directions in this area.
As at 31 March 2024, over 10,300 soil samples had been collected from Solonópole and 8,741 soil samples had been analysed by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) for Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) pathfinders, of which 1,908 soil samples have lab results validated by Oceana´s internal QA/QC. Anomalous lithium values above 100 ppm and up to 631 ppm were found in 383 soil samples within existing and new target areas.
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