Part Of Optimisation Strategy For Mount Peake Vanadium Project
Australian resource and mineral processing technology company TNG Limited (ASX: TNG) has agreed to participate in a ground-breaking project with its German-based strategic engineering partner SMS group.
The two companies will work on the development of a carbon-neutral technology for the production of green hydrogen as part of an optimisation strategy for its Mount Peake Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Under the Agreement, TNG will partner with SMS to develop technology to produce green hydrogen from various renewable, secondary or fossil hydrocarbon sources by means of plasma pyrolysis.
SMS are already advanced in their understanding of such technology and will manage all development activities and, specifically, apply the technology to TNG’s TIVAN Process. SMS will provide a fully detailed development program in support of the specific resourcing required from both parties under the Agreement.
This technology, which consumes roughly one-third of the electricity required to produce the same amount of hydrogen by electrolysis of water, could be the preferred reduction agent for TNG’s TIVAN Process, marking an important step in the Company’s roadmap towards achieving a net zero carbon footprint for TIVAN.
The technology also has the potential to be applied for the production of hydrogen and syngas from various fossil, biogenic and waste materials, opening up additional potential business opportunities for TNG and SMS in the fast- growing space of the hydrogen and e-fuels economy, and outside the Company’s proposed core titanium- vanadium-iron business.
A by-product of this process is anticipated to be highly-pure carbon black powder, which currently sells at approximately US$1,000 per tonne. Possibilities to produce graphene and/or carbon nanotubes from this powder will also be investigated in parallel by SMS.
The Agreement is not expected to impact the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) study completion and delivery of the turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) proposal from SMS. The company’s primary focus remains on progression and completion of the remaining engineering and design work streams for the Mount Peake Project, including the current FEED study.
Managing Director & CEO, Paul Burton, said the hydrogen technology development programme will be progressed in parallel, and subject to confirmation of technical and commercial feasibility and integration with project development planning, has potential application for further optimisation of the Mount Peake Project.
“There is a huge amount of momentum globally moving towards a hydrogen-based economy, and this is an exciting opportunity for TNG while at the same time has the potential to move our TIVAN Process towards carbon-neutral which is important as we continue on our pathway to secure TNG’s position as a sustainable metals producer.
“We believe that being able to use a carbon-neutral product in our patented TIVAN® process will be a further significant advantage to TNG in relation to other competing technologies used for the extraction of high-quality titanium, vanadium and iron products from titanomagnetite ores, sands and slags. “This also continues strengthening our existing partnership with SMS.”
