EcoGraf Granted 20-Year Australian Patent For HFfree Purification Technology
EcoGraf (ASX: EGR) has achieved another significant breakthrough with the granting of an Australian patent for the company’s HFfree purification technology.
The 20-year patent for HFfree follows the patent the company received in May 2025, which provided broad protection of the purification technology flowsheet and added to the company’s product qualification facility (PQF) program.
The PQF program is co-funded via a grant from the Australian government’s Critical Minerals Development Program.
Range of Applications
The Australian patents cover the use of the HFfree purification technology across a range of applications relating to the manufacture of battery anode material and high purity graphite products, as well as the recycling of lithium-ion battery anodes.
EcoGraf has also made additional separate patent applications in other planned processing locations including the EU, South Korea, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Managing director Andrew Spinks said that interest in the company’s plans to provide a new source of environmentally superior battery anode material had increased recently.
He also noted that the government support of the PQF initiative was a key step to securing offtake arrangements for the development of the company’s planned commercial scale purification facilities in major global battery markets.
Positive PQF Results
EcoGraf reported positive results earlier this month from the extensive PQF test work and analysis it has been conducting over recent years, which identified strong economic returns for a commercial scale EcoGraf HFfree purification facility at an initial production capacity of 25,000 tonnes per annum.
Mr Spinks said the results had further strengthened Hffree’s competitive advantage in producing anode material for the lithium-ion battery and smart technology markets, highlighting the potential for a 25% reduction in the estimated operating cost for the facility to US$478/t.
The company also believes that the use of readily available reagents makes the process suitable for implementation in manufacturing hubs across Europe, North America and Asia.
“[This work] demonstrates the compelling value proposition of linking our upstream Tanzanian graphite developments with the HFfree purification facilities to provide a vertically integrated business that will enable customers to reduce their dependence on existing graphite supply chains,” Mr Spinks added.