Alpha HPA progress towards NAIF funding

Alpha HPA is ticking off KPIs in its bid to get loan funding from the federal government. The company has advised the ASX it has been working closely with the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) for finance to the HPA First Project in Gladstone. It’s has broached a significant hurdle with NAIF advise that the company had successfully completed the Strategic Assessment Phase (SAP), said managing director Rimas Kairaitis. The NAIF would now commit further resources to detailed Project due diligence, Mr Kairaitis said. HPA Pilot Plant “Alpha will work with NAIF to provide the required information to complete its due diligence,” he said. “NAIF has not made any decision to offer finance or made any commitment to provide any financial accommodation and there is no certainty that an agreement will be reached between the parties. “Alpha is delighted to have reached this milestone. We look forward to working with the NAIF through their detailed due diligence process.” Alpha is advised by KPMG Financial Advisory Services Australia Pty Ltd KPMG with respect to HPA First Project financing. Previous reports Meanwhile, Industry Queensland reported in June that Alpha HPA would kick-start its Gladstone development plans with a $27.6 million Precursor Production Facility (PPF) to be built ‘within months’. The PPF is to be constructed on the Gladstone State Development Area site of the company’s planned $308 million high purity alumina plant – the HPA First project. It will produce more than 200 tonnes per annum of ultra-high purity aluminium precursors for export. Related: Alpha HPA in renewable energy deal In an announcement today, Alpha HPA said its Board had committed to the construction of the PPF. Construction is set to start in the last quarter of this year and it is due to be in full commercial production by August next year. The PPF would provide Alpha with the opportunity to fast-track project cash flows, build market share, strengthen relationships with key customers, and to establish a reputation as a premium producer of high purity aluminium products ahead of the full-scale HPA First plant, it said. “Alpha is extremely excited to be building this Precursor Production Facility,” managing director Rimas Kairaitis said. “Our recent market engagement has convinced us there is an immediate global demand for our precursor products, which is likely to grow as decarbonisation trends continue to take effect. “Alpha’s positive market feedback on the premium nature of our ultra-high purity products combined with the observation that live demand for precursors is considerably influenced by immediate product availability, provides a key motivation for Alpha to proceed with the PPF. “ The construction of the PPF would not interrupt the full-scale project’s schedule, the company said. MeAlpha HPA has flagged a 2023 start for large-scale production at the HPA First project, which would produce about 10,000tpa using its own solvent extraction and HPA refining technology. Alpha has engaged Prudentia Process Consultants, principal engineers to the HPA First project, to deliver the 12-week Front End Engineering and Design (FEED), ahead of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contract, for the PPF. The PPF will focus on the production and sale of ultra high-purity (5N) aluminium precursor salts, with smaller pre-commercial production of HPA and boehmite. Applications for the 5N precursor include use in specialty electronic coatings, lithium-ion batteries, mini and micro LEDs, photovoltaics and medical imaging scintillators. Alpha will continue to source feedstock for the PPF from the supplier to its Brisbane Demonstration Plant. Once the HPA First plant is commissioned, the PPF will manufacture cathode precursor #2 using aluminium feed directly from the full-scale project. Alpha has reached agreement with Orica Australia for the supply of key process reagents for the PPF and the offtake of process by-product.

Alpha HPA progress towards NAIF funding

Industry Queensland

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