TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY

Oxide Reduction Process for Enhanced Efficiency and Product Purity in Metal Production

A new oxide reduction process that enhances current efficiency and product purity in the metal production industry, by delivering faster, more efficient reduction and lower residual oxygen.

Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), offers the opportunity to explore a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize this oxide reduction process. This technology transfer opportunity is part of a dedicated effort to convert government-funded research into job opportunities, businesses, and, ultimately, an improved way of life for the American people.

Overview: The metal industry, including aerospace, automotive, and defense sectors, is challenged by inefficiencies in electrochemical processes to produce metals and alloys, particularly in the direct oxide reduction process. The current approach, involving sintered oxide precursors, results in lower current efficiency due to the lack of sufficient pathways for oxide ions. This challenge, along with corrosion and other drawbacks, has limited the broader adoption of the direct oxide reduction process despite its low cost.

Description: This innovative process developed at Idaho National Laboratory addresses these challenges by modifying the fabrication of sintered oxide precursors, creating them in a reducing atmosphere. This leads to a notable decrease in reduction time and significant reduction in residual oxygen in the finished product. This process improvement allows for more efficient removal of oxide ions and improves the overall chemical purity of the metals and alloys produced.

Benefits:

• Higher current efficiency and improved product purity.

• Decreased reduction time, reducing potential for corrosion.

• Minimized need for post-reduction treatment, reducing production costs.

• Applicable to a wide range of oxides, offering greater versatility.

• A cost-effective and non-disruptive enhancement to existing manufacturing processes.

Applications:

• Production of higher purity metallic materials for both nuclear and non-nuclear technologies.

• Application across a broad range of single and mixed oxides.

• Implementation in primary metal production and recycling processes for recovery of valuable metals.

• Expansion of product portfolios for metal manufacturing companies.

Development Status: TRL 4, the system has been validated in a laboratory environment.

IP Status: Provisional Patent Application No. 63/494,653, “Methods of Forming a Metal Material from a Metal Oxide Material by Electrochemical Reduction and Related Metal Materials,” BEA Docket No. BA-1092.

INL seeks to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Added value is placed on relationships with small businesses, start-up companies, and general entrepreneurship opportunities.

Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Andrew Rankin at td@inl.gov.