Arianne Phosphate, a development-stage phosphate mining company, advancing the Lac à Paul project in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, has announced that the company has partnered, by way of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), with Travertine Technologies Inc. for the production of purified phosphoric acid (PPA) by combining Travertine’s proprietary process with Arianne’s high-purity phosphate concentrate.
Travertine’s phosphate process produces PPA from phosphate concentrate using recycled sulfuric acid, eliminating a substantial cost associated with PPA production. Further, this process eliminates phosphogypsum waste, while producing carbon-neutral or carbon-negative materials for cements, making it environmentally friendly. Arianne’s phosphate concentrate is a perfect feedstock for this process given its high-purity, low-contaminant nature. Current work is on-going to advance engineering on a Phase 1 small commercial facility expected to produce PPA for use in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active materials (CAM) production.
“We are excited to be working with Travertine on this venture,” said Brian Ostroff, Head of Strategic and Business Initiatives. “This partnership plays directly into Arianne’s strategy of not only being a miner of phosphate but in also being a producer of purified phosphoric acid thus capturing the opportunity and unlocking the substantial economic benefits. Arianne has concluded on this as a first step in its goal of partnering with players that have technologies and operations that will allow the company to benefit directly from the growing demand for purified phosphoric acid, a necessity for the LFP battery. Deals like this will allow Arianne and its partners to aid in the West’s requirement for a secure supply of battery materials.”
Travertine is currently operating a research, development and demonstration (RD&D) and engineering facility in Colorado and a demonstration plant in New York State. Investors in Travertine include the building materials company Holcim, as well as Clean Energy Ventures, Bidra Innovation Ventures, and the Grantham Foundation. Work has been ongoing with Arianne for over a year as the companies look to progress the partnership toward commercialisation. The partnership roadmap advances through progressively larger PPA production, gaining greater economies of scale, while building an all-North American supply chain through offtake partnerships with LFP CAM, battery, and Auto OEMs.
“The global energy transition is driving huge demand growth for critical elements such as phosphorus,” added Laura Lammers, PhD, founder and CEO of Travertine. “Partnering with Arianne is an important step toward our goal of building a new circular economy at scale for the next generation of phosphates production.”
Arianne Phosphate’s Lac à Paul project hosts the world’s largest greenfield phosphate deposit. Due to the phosphate deposit being igneous, and thus geologically rare, the company can produce a very high-purity, low-contaminant phosphate concentrate that allows for easy conversion into purified phosphoric acid. The company has spent over US$100 million advancing the project and has received funding and investment from the Quebec Government. As well, the company recently received conditional approval for a grant of up to US$735 000 from the Government of Canada to further its work on the production of purified phosphoric acid. Lac à Paul is the only greenfield North American project that is permitted. Working with Travertine will advance the opportunity to target the Western PPA market, one currently underserved and dependent on Chinese imports.
The MoU is non-binding and sets out how the companies will partner on the development and commercialisation of a PPA facility, as well as formalise their respective economic share of the revenues generated by the facility.