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HPQ Silicon On The Cusp Of Disrupting 80 Year Old $1.5 Billion Fumed Silica Industry

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Manage episode 484269991 series 3179537
Content provided by AGORACOM. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by AGORACOM or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

  • Untapped Market: Canada consumes ~24,000 tonnes of fumed silica annually. HPQ aims to become the country’s first domestic producer.

  • Cost Advantage: Traditional plants cost up to $150 million. HPQ’s model requires a fraction of that—making it economically and environmentally superior.

  • Global Relevance: Amid new tariffs and reshoring trends, HPQ offers a local, low-emission alternative to imported materials from China and Europe.

HPQ Silicon has reached the most significant milestone in its history: independent analysis has confirmed its proprietary Fumed Silica Reactor (FSR) produced commercial-grade material. This breakthrough disrupts a global industry still reliant on a toxic, energy-intensive process that hasn’t meaningfully changed since 1944.

Fumed silica is essential in everyday products like cosmetics, toothpaste, batteries, and paints. Traditional production requires converting quartz into silicon metal, processing it with corrosive chemicals, and incinerating it with hydrogen gas. HPQ’s process skips all that—producing fumed silica in a single step from raw quartz, with lower emissions, lower costs, and no hazardous byproducts.

The validation? It comes from a third-party microscopy analysis (conducted at one of Montreal’s top research universities), which confirmed that HPQ’s pilot-scale product matches the morphology and structure of established, high-purity industry standards.

This milestone reinforces HPQ’s previously signed Letter of Intent with Evonik Industries, a $10 billion German chemical company that invented fumed silica and dominates the global market. With the technology now proven at a 20x lab scale, the door opens to further technical evaluations—and eventual commercial engagement.

“We’ve replicated lab-scale results at 20x scale and confirmed it through side-by-side imaging. This is the single biggest milestone in HPQ’s history.” — Bernard Tourillon, CEO

With this third-party validation in hand, HPQ is moving quickly to capitalize. Conversations with Evonik are already underway to determine whether this latest material batch will be shipped for qualification.

Other major fumed silica producers—previously awaiting test results—have resumed discussions. Internally, HPQ continues optimizing the grade and consistency of its product through additional test cycles. With its pilot plant operating smoothly and yielding better-than-expected output, HPQ is now mapping the path to commercial production—built on scalable, industry-standard components. The momentum is real, and the company is positioning itself as a clean-tech leader in a global market ready for disruption.

BOLD DISRUPTION OF AN 80-YEAR-OLD INDUSTRYSTRATEGIC INTEREST FROM A GLOBAL LEADERWHAT’S NEXT

  continue reading

841 episodes

Artwork
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Manage episode 484269991 series 3179537
Content provided by AGORACOM. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by AGORACOM or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

  • Untapped Market: Canada consumes ~24,000 tonnes of fumed silica annually. HPQ aims to become the country’s first domestic producer.

  • Cost Advantage: Traditional plants cost up to $150 million. HPQ’s model requires a fraction of that—making it economically and environmentally superior.

  • Global Relevance: Amid new tariffs and reshoring trends, HPQ offers a local, low-emission alternative to imported materials from China and Europe.

HPQ Silicon has reached the most significant milestone in its history: independent analysis has confirmed its proprietary Fumed Silica Reactor (FSR) produced commercial-grade material. This breakthrough disrupts a global industry still reliant on a toxic, energy-intensive process that hasn’t meaningfully changed since 1944.

Fumed silica is essential in everyday products like cosmetics, toothpaste, batteries, and paints. Traditional production requires converting quartz into silicon metal, processing it with corrosive chemicals, and incinerating it with hydrogen gas. HPQ’s process skips all that—producing fumed silica in a single step from raw quartz, with lower emissions, lower costs, and no hazardous byproducts.

The validation? It comes from a third-party microscopy analysis (conducted at one of Montreal’s top research universities), which confirmed that HPQ’s pilot-scale product matches the morphology and structure of established, high-purity industry standards.

This milestone reinforces HPQ’s previously signed Letter of Intent with Evonik Industries, a $10 billion German chemical company that invented fumed silica and dominates the global market. With the technology now proven at a 20x lab scale, the door opens to further technical evaluations—and eventual commercial engagement.

“We’ve replicated lab-scale results at 20x scale and confirmed it through side-by-side imaging. This is the single biggest milestone in HPQ’s history.” — Bernard Tourillon, CEO

With this third-party validation in hand, HPQ is moving quickly to capitalize. Conversations with Evonik are already underway to determine whether this latest material batch will be shipped for qualification.

Other major fumed silica producers—previously awaiting test results—have resumed discussions. Internally, HPQ continues optimizing the grade and consistency of its product through additional test cycles. With its pilot plant operating smoothly and yielding better-than-expected output, HPQ is now mapping the path to commercial production—built on scalable, industry-standard components. The momentum is real, and the company is positioning itself as a clean-tech leader in a global market ready for disruption.

BOLD DISRUPTION OF AN 80-YEAR-OLD INDUSTRYSTRATEGIC INTEREST FROM A GLOBAL LEADERWHAT’S NEXT

  continue reading

841 episodes

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