IperionX has advanced large-scale titanium metal manufacturing at its Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus, successfully installing the Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction (HAMR) titanium furnace.
The HAMR titanium furnace’s installation opens doors to a multitude of competitive advantages including lower operating temperatures, increased efficiencies, shorter production cycles, and higher product qualities, the company said in an ASX announcement.
The titanium furnace has been delivered and installed successfully, with the initial energization and commissioning scheduled to start in Q2 2024 as per the plan.
It is expected that the full operational capacity, targeting a minimum of 125 metric tons per year, will be achieved by the end of 2024, with plans to further scale up to a production capacity of 2,000 metric tons per year by 2026.
According to IperionX, this advancement is bolstered by the company’s portfolio of patented technologies capable of producing various titanium products, from powders to semi-finished and additively manufactured components.
Anastasios Arima, CEO of IperionX, expressed his enthusiasm for the deployment of the advanced HAMR titanium furnace.
“The deployment of our advanced HAMR titanium furnace at the Virginia facility is another crucial step to re-shore a full ‘end to end’ titanium supply chain within the United States,” the CEO remarked.
Arima highlighted, “The successful commissioning and production from this furnace is the cornerstone for a transformation of the U.S. titanium industry to manufacture high-performance, low-cost titanium alloys for advanced American industries.”
