AGORACOM Small-cap Investor Relations Blog

• Work will continue with respect to activities in which social distancing and best health practices can be observed, such as developing the new PUREVAP™Â Silicon Metal Nano Reactor, (PUREVAP™Â SiNR).

MONTREAL, March 30, 2020  — HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. (“HPQ” or the “Company”) TSX-V: HPQ; FWB: UGE; Other OTC : URAGF; would like to inform shareholders that in response to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, HPQ and its partners PyroGenesis in Montreal, and Apollon in France, and suppliers are respecting the health and safety of employees by encouraging employees to isolate, and work from home as much as possible.  Given the severity of the outbreak and continuing uncertainty regarding the duration and business impact of the virus, the start of the Gen3 Pilot Plant commissioning and testing program is being postponed until further notice.  However, work will continue with respect to activities in which social distancing and best health practices can be observed, such as developing the new PUREVAP™Â Silicon Metal Nano Reactor, (PUREVAP™Â SiNR).

BATTERY INDUSTRY INTEREST IN HPQ CONTINUES TO REMAIN STRONG

Despite the current circumstances, battery industry participants continue to inquire and demonstrate strong interest in our future upstream production capabilities.  Specifically, we are seeing meaningful interest in using our PUREVAP™ RRQ Silicon Metal (Si) as feed stock to manufacture:

• Spherical Silicon Metal Nano Powders and Nanowires with our PUREVAP™ SiNR;
• Porous Silicon Metals wafers; and Porous Silicon Metal powders working with Apollon;

So much so that, as soon as possible once the COVID-19 business interruption ends, our primary focus will be on manufacturing sufficient quantities of material to deliver samples to battery manufacturers and research centres. Only once these goals have been attained will we re-deploy assets to the Gen3 Pilot Plant commissioning and testing program. This is the level of importance of this initiative.

“The COVID-19 outbreak, possible recession and low oil prices don’t change the long-term cyclical movement of the Renewable Energy Revolution (“RER”).  HPQ is building a portfolio of unique High Value Silicon Metal products needed for the RER and the short-term business interruption we are experiencing has no bearing on the long-term potential of what we are doing. The continued interest in HPQ from the battery industry despite COVID-19 interruptions provides unequivocal evidence of this,” said Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO HPQ Silicon.  â€œInterest in the potential for Silicon Metal’s potential to contribute to energy storage demand is undeniable and generating massive investments, as well as, serious industry interest. This was true before the COVID-19 outbreak and will be true after.”

About Silicon Metal

Silicon Metal (Si) is one of today’s strategic material needed to fulfil the renewable energy revolution presently under way. Silicon does not exist in its pure state; it must be extracted from quartz (SiO2), in what has historically been a costly and energy intensive process.  

About HPQ Silicon

HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. (TSX-V: HPQ) is developing, with PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (TSX-V: PYR), a high-tech company that designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes plasma – based processes, the innovative PUREVAP™ â€œQuartz Reduction Reactors” (QRR), a process (patent pending), which will permit the One Step transformation of Quartz (SiO2) into High Purity Silicon (Si) at reduced costs, energy input, and carbon footprint that will propagate its considerable renewable energy potential.

HPQ, working with PyroGenesis, is also developing the PUREVAP™ Silicon Metal Nano Reactor (SiNR). This is a proprietary process that uses different purities of Silicon Metal (SI as feedstock), melts them into liquid Si that can then be synthesized into the Spherical Silicon Metal Nano Powders and Nanowires necessary for the next generation of Lithium-ion batteries.  During 2020, the plan is to validate our game changing manufacturing approach by upgrading our existing Gen2 PUREVAP™ QRR reactor into a PUREVAP™ SiNR to produce spherical Silicon Metal (Si) nano-powders and nanowires samples for industry participants and research institutions’.

Concurrently, HPQ is also working with industry leader Apollon Solar to develop a manufacturing capability that uses the High Purity Silicon (Si) made with the PUREVAP™ to make Porous silicon wafers needed for solid-state Li-ion batteries.  We expect that the first Silicon wafer should be ready to be shipped for testing to a battery manufacturer (under NDA) in 2020.

The focus of HPQ focus is to become the lowest cost producer of Silicon Metal (Si), High Purity Silicon Metal (Si), Spherical Si nano-powders and silicon-based composites for next-generation lithium-ion batteries, Porous Silicon Wafers for Solid states batteries and Porous Silicon Powders for Li-ion batteries.

This News Release is available on the company’s CEO Verified Discussion Forum, a moderated social media platform that enables civilized discussion and Q&A between Management and Shareholders. 

Disclaimers:

The Corporation’s interest in developing the PUREVAP™ QRR and any projected capital or operating cost savings associated with its development should not be construed as being related to the establishing the economic viability or technical feasibility of any of the Company’s Quartz Projects.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectation and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company’s on-going filings with the security’s regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information contact
Bernard J. Tourillon, Chairman, President and CEO Tel (514) 907-1011
Patrick Levasseur, Vice-President and COO Tel: (514) 262-9239
http://www.hpqsilicon.com Email: [email protected]

SPONSOR: HPQ-Silicon Resources HPQ: TSX-V aiming to become the lowest cost producer of Silicon Metal and a vertically integrated and diversified High Purity, Solar Grade Silicon Metal producer. Click here for more info.

Electric Vehicle Batteries Will ‘Dwarf’ The Grid’s Energy-Storage Needs

By: Jeff McMahon

• There will be more than enough batteries in electric vehicles by 2050 to support a grid that runs on solar and wind—if the two are connected by smart chargers, according to experts at the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Electric vehicles are expected to carry 40 terawatt-hours of battery storage by that date, said Francisco Boshell, IRENA’s team lead for renewable energy technology standards and markets, compared to nine terawatts of stationary storage.

“If we see this from not from a transport perspective but from a power-sector perspective it also means that a massive electricity storage capacity would be available with all these batteries on wheels,” Boshell said in webinar posted by IRENA this week. “Batteries in EVs dwarf a stationary battery capacity in 2050…. This is indeed a great opportunity for the power sector transformation.

If those EV batteries are connected to the grid by smart chargers, they could not only provide sufficient power but also many of the system services needed by a grid that relies on intermittent renewables.

Those services include primary and secondary power reserves, fast-frequency reserves, arbitrage, voltage control, and congestion management through load shifting and peak shaving, said Arina Anisie, who collaborated with Boshell and other analysts on an IRENA report on the topic.

“Vehicle-to-grid makes a lot of sense in the sense that the cars are parked 90 percent of the time, and the battery is connected to the grid for such a long time that we can actually use the battery to offer some services back to the grid and help the grid increase flexibility and integrate a higher share of wind and solar,” said Anisie, an officer in IRENA’s renewable energy innovation team.

“So it would be a win-win situation for both the transport sector and the power sector.”

There are seeming incompatibilities between the two systems, Anisie said, but they are resolvable.

For example, drivers will prefer fast or ultra-fast chargers to minimize charging time, but a smart charging system works best with slow chargers.

“It really needs to change the behavior of the consumer to be able to harness the synergies between mobility and wind and solar,” she said, though there are technical ways to resolve the issue too, including battery swapping or buffer storage at charging stations.

“There are several options to actually to still install fast charging that is much needed, especially on the highways, but to mitigate the stress that it puts on the local grid.”

There are other driver-based obstacles, such as concerns about range anxiety and battery health in a vehicle that exchanges power with the grid.

But not integrating the two sectors could be more costly and problematic than integrating them.

A study of Hamburg’s grid by the engineering firm Stromnetz found that if 97 percent of the city’s vehicles were electric, the grid would experience congestion at 15 percent of its feeders.

Upgrading the grid to fix that problem would cost €20 million. But a grid operator with access to a smart charging system could resolve the congestion for only €2 million.

“It reduces congestion at a much lower cost than investing in the grid solution,” Anisie said.

Vehicle autonomy may present another challenge, Anisie said. The prospect of shared autonomous vehicles means far fewer vehicles would be needed overall, and each would be connected to the grid for less time, which could deprive the grid of this vast mobile battery.

Ainsie recommended public officials study these potential changes in the nature of mobility but meanwhile incentivize smart charging and promote electric vehicles and renewables together.

“Both should go hand in hand.”

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2020/01/29/electric-vehicle-batteries-could-dwarf-the-grids-energy-storage-needs/#40dffdd75929