IperionX reports first successful HAMR titanium furnace production run
August 15, 2024
IperionX, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, has announced the successful commissioning of its commercial-scale Hydrogen-Assist Metallothermic Reduction (HAMR) furnace. This marks the first titanium de-oxygenation production run at the Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia, USA.
“The IperionX team delivered an important technological and commercial milestone for the global titanium industry,” stated Anastasios (Taso) Arima, IperionX CEO.
“Over the last two years, we have successfully operated our pilot titanium production facility in Utah, producing high performance titanium products for customers and importantly – delivering first revenues for our company. Today, we demonstrated that our HAMR technology works at commercial scale. We successfully increased the furnace production capacity by ~60X times and produced high performance titanium that exceeds industry quality standards,” continued Arima.
IperionX’s proprietary HAMR technology offers a range of competitive advantages, including lower operating temperatures, reduced energy consumption, enhanced process efficiency, and accelerated production cycles – all achieved with lower capital investment intensity.
Produced entirely from 100% scrap titanium (Ti6Al4V alloy, Grade 5 titanium), quality assessments confirmed a large reduction in oxygen levels from 3.42% to below 0.07%, exceeding the ASTM standard requirement of 0.2% for Grade 5 titanium.
Over the coming months, IperionX will commission and optimise the supporting process equipment to achieve full system production capacity in Virginia, with end-to-end system operations expected in late 2024.
“IperionX plans to expand the capacity of its Titanium Manufacturing Campus by adding modular, low-risk and low-cost HAMR furnaces. IperionX aims to be a leading US titanium producer of +10,000 metric tons per annum by 2030. Our goal is to re-shore the full titanium supply chain to the United States, at lower costs for our customers, and deliver the most sustainable titanium products on the market,” Arima concluded.
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