HIGHLIGHTS
- Sparc Technologies and Golden Grove Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of 29Metals Limited (ASX:29M), have signed a binding agreement to undertake a field trial of ecosparc® enhanced anti-corrosive coating on processing plant infrastructure
- Second binding trial agreement signed by Sparc this year
- Successful continuation of Sparc’s strategy of working with asset owners across government, defence, mining and oil & gas to demonstrate ecosparc®’s performance in relevant real-world environments
Sparc Technologies Limited (ASX: SPN) (Sparc, Sparc Technologies or the Company) is pleased to announce the execution of a binding agreement (Trial Agreement) with Golden Grove Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of 29Metals Limited (29Metals), a leading Australian miner of base and precious metals.
The Trial Agreement details the terms and conditions under which Sparc and 29Metals will conduct a collaborative field trial involving the application of an ecosparc® enhanced coating on steel processing plant infrastructure at the Golden Grove mine site in Western Australia.
The Trial Agreement with 29Metals represents a continuation of Sparc’s strategy of working with asset owners across government, defence, mining and oil & gas to demonstrate the performance of ecosparc® enhanced coatings in relevant real-world environments.
The climatic and physical environment at the Golden Grove processing plant, which is located 250km east of Geraldton in WA, is significantly different to the coastal environments being used for field trials with the South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) (refer to ASX Announcement 28 March 2024).
This will provide Sparc and its potential customers with additional real-world performance data which will build on over 5 years of research and development and >10,000 data points based on accelerated corrosion testing in the laboratory.
Importantly, this agreement shows continuing market demand from industry for better performing anti-corrosive coatings.
Sparc Managing Director, Mr. Nick O’Loughlin commented:
“It is highly rewarding to see our ecosparc® additive incorporated into a market leading anti-corrosive paint for use on infrastructure within the mining sector.
The extensive internal test work that has been completed with excellent results will now be externally validated in an application and environment which is distinctly different from the recently announced trials with the South Australian Department for Infrastructure and Transport.
We thank 29Metals for the innovative approach they have shown by supporting this new technology which Sparc is confident will improve asset performance and sustainability whilst lowering maintenance costs for steel assets.”
As per the field trials with DIT, the trial at Golden Grove will compare the performance of an ecosparc® enhanced coating with a control area coated with a market leading anti-corrosive paint.
Sparc’s key obligations, as outlined in the Trial Agreement, are to supply the agreed quantities of ecosparc® enhanced and unmodified control coatings to Golden Grove at Sparc’s cost, along with specified application instructions.
29Metals’ obligations include to provide and prepare the agreed steel infrastructure and to arrange for application of the ecosparc® enhanced and control coatings at its own cost.
A summary of the material terms of the Trial Agreement is set out in an Appendix to this announcement.
The financial impact of the Trial Agreement is negligible.
However, the Trial Agreement is material to Sparc on the basis it represents a further key milestone in the testing of the Company’s flagship graphene based additive product on key infrastructure in relevant real-world environments.
LINK TO ASX RELEASE: Sparc Secures ecosparc® Field Trial with 29Metals
About ecosparc® - A performance additive for Protective Coatings
Sparc Technologies has conducted over 5 years of research and development on ecosparc®, its flagship graphene based additive product.
The addition of very small quantities of ecosparc® to conventional protective coatings, has demonstrated up to 40% anti-corrosion improvement in commercially available epoxy-based coatings, ensuring the reliability, longevity, safety and cost-effectiveness of the steel infrastructure they cover.
In 2023, the Company commissioned its ecosparc® commercial production facility.
The facility enables Sparc to provide commercial quantities of graphene based additive product for the coatings industry and to support field trials.
Multiple global coatings companies continue to undertake product evaluation of ecosparc® in their anti-corrosive coatings.
Further to this, Sparc is progressing a campaign targeting asset owners with a view to conducting field trials utilising ecosparc® enhanced coatings on key steel infrastructure such as frames, tanks and structures in a variety of corrosive environments.
Infrastructure owners being targeted include government, defence, mining, and oil and gas companies.
For more information about ecosparc® please visit: ecosparc.com.au
Key Facts:
Sparc Technologies and Golden Grove Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of 29Metals Limited (ASX:29M), have signed a binding agreement to undertake a field trial of ecosparc® enhanced anti-corrosive coating on processing plant infrastructure
Second binding trial agreement signed by Sparc this year
Successful continuation of Sparc’s strategy of working with asset owners across government, defence, mining and oil & gas to demonstrate ecosparc®’s performance in relevant real-world environments
About us:
Sparc Technologies Limited (‘Sparc”, ASX: SPN) is an Australian company pioneering new technologies to disrupt and transform industry while seeking to deliver a more sustainable world. Sparc has established offices in Australia, Europe and North America and is focused on three core areas of technology development.
Sparc has spent over 5 years developing a graphene based additive product, ecosparc®, which has demonstrated up to 40% anti-corrosion improvement in commercially available epoxy-based coatings. Sparc recently commissioned a manufacturing facility to produce ecosparc® and is engaging with global coatings companies to commercialise the technology.
Sparc is a majority shareholder of Sparc Hydrogen which is a company pioneering the development of photocatalytic water splitting (‘PWS’) green hydrogen production technology. PWS is an alternative to producing green hydrogen via electrolysis, using only sunlight, water and a photocatalyst. Given lower infrastructure requirements and energy use, the process has the potential to deliver a cost and flexibility advantage over electrolysis.
Sparc is also developing sustainable sodium ion battery anode technology derived from agricultural bio-waste materials.
For more information please visit: sparctechnologies.com.au
For more information about ecosparc® please visit: ecosparc.com.au
For more information about Sparc Hydrogen please visit: sparchydrogen.com
Contact details:
Nick O’Loughlin Managing Director
Mark Flynn Investor Relations
mark.flynn@sparctechnologies.com.au
+61 416 068 733