Metallium Completed Texas Flash Joule Heating Campaign
Metallium processed platinum group metals from catalytic converters during a recent twelve-hour test in Texas.
Updated on Oct. 1, 2026 in Electric Vehicles
Live Poll
Do you trust emerging metal recycling technologies to successfully scale up and meet market demands?
Metallium has successfully completed a 12-hour flash joule heating chlorination campaign at the Gator Point Technology Campus in Texas. The operation utilized three reactors to process platinum group metal-bearing feedstock.
Why it matters
This campaign serves as a critical step in assessing the scalability and efficiency of flash joule heating for recovering precious metals from automotive components. The data gathered will allow the company to optimize reactor configurations and operating parameters for future industrial applications.
The feedstock contained 153 ppm platinum, 518 ppm palladium, and 63 ppm rhodium. The campaign spanned 12 hours and yielded approximately 50 samples across 12 distinct test cycles.
The players
Metallium
Metallium is a technology company specializing in advanced material processing and metallurgical recovery solutions.
The details
Using three flash joule heating reactors, the company processed catalytic converters to test various particle-size distributions. The resulting samples will undergo further analysis to verify vendor-reported metal concentrations.
Timeline
The campaign was completed on October 1, 2026.
Roadmap
Flash joule heating represents a significant shift toward rapid, low-energy metallurgical extraction that could disrupt traditional refinery practices. This trial positions Metallium to potentially shorten the supply chain for recycled platinum group metals used in automotive manufacturing.
By increasing the efficiency of recycling precious metals from old catalytic converters, this technology could lower the long-term production costs for emission-control systems. These advancements help automakers stabilize their supply chains for critical metals required in automotive hardware.
The takeaway
The successful completion of these tests marks a move toward more sustainable resource management within the automotive supply chain. Future efficiency gains depend on the pending acid digest analysis which will calibrate the precise recovery yields of the process.
Further reading
For more on the latest developments in materials for the auto industry, visit our Electric Vehicles section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Small Caps.
Live Poll
Do you trust emerging metal recycling technologies to successfully scale up and meet market demands?
