Calix Limited (ASX: CXL), an Australian environmental technology company focused on industrial decarbonisation, has announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a leading aluminium company to jointly develop its Zero Emissions Alumina (ZEAL) technology. In addition to the MOU, Calix has also signed an agreement with the same Alumina Company to conduct a pilot-scale material testing program and pre-Front-End Engineering Design (pre-FEED) study.
The agreements will see Calix undertake the material testing program at its Technology Centre in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. The program aims to demonstrate the feasibility of Calix’s ZEAL technology in producing smelter grade alumina from the Alumina Company’s feedstock. Calix will retain all Intellectual Property (IP) related to its core technology, allowing it to deploy the ZEAL technology as an industry-wide solution for alumina calcination. The material testing program and pre-FEED study are expected to generate over AU$1.0 million in revenue for Calix.
Calix’s ZEAL technology seeks to replace fossil fuels in alumina refining with electric calcination, potentially reducing emissions, costs, and improving product quality. The company’s technology is designed to produce smelter grade alumina with the potential to enable zero scope 1 emissions in the energy-intensive calcination of bauxite to alumina. According to Calix, electric calcination of alumina has the potential to be more energy efficient, as electric heating replaces fuel combustion and creates high purity steam for potential reuse within the process.
Calix CEO and Managing Director, Phil Hodgson, stated that the agreements mark important milestones for Calix, delivering first revenues in alumina and validating the company’s commercialisation strategy. He added that the company looks forward to demonstrating the lowest-cost pathway to near-zero emissions alumina with its new global partner. Calix is a technology company creating businesses that solve global challenges in industrial decarbonisation and sustainability. Its patented core platform technology is being developed for indirect heating of raw materials to enable efficient, precise, flexible and renewably powered metals and minerals processing and capture of unavoidable industrial emissions.
