EcoMag was awarded a $2 million grant by the office of Northern Australia. This is our first grant from the Australian Federal Government and it will help fund our project development in Karratha WA.
The grant contract will become available to us in the next few weeks. We are ready to sign, spend and promote the project. The team has already set out priorities, taking into account the lead times for equipment that needs to be built and commissioned. EcoMag has already hired project managers for Karratha and cleared out the existing facilities on site. The timeline and budget will be finalised once we have confirmation on quotes, contracts and shipping times.
Funding Future
Management has already started seeking extra funding opportunities that are available for EcoMag. This is becoming easier as we are now considered to be an infinite resource company as well as a waste treatment processor. EcoMag is also an ESG company and this puts us in the sweet spot for more government investment, which is the preferred route, in addition to funding from the responsible investment community. Investment meetings have been arranged for June and July in Europe and the UK, as our main customers and distributors are from this region. They have a vested interest in EcoMag as the high pure magnesium will be used for Pharmeutical supplement production and as fire retardant additive for the plastic industry.
Waste to Resource and Low CO2 footprint
EcoMag is in the enviable position of relying solely on waste streams for our processes. Our source of waste material is a solar salt waste stream that has been produced by solar thermal evaporation. There is minimal carbon produced by our process when we make the highly concentrated Mg stream. This compares favourably to other magnesium companies that either mine their magnesium from deep shafts or boil seawater until the sea is concentrated to remove Mg commercially generating CO2 in the process. Our company is a prime example of waste to resource with the added benefit of having the lowest carbon footprint. Our future plans are to further reduce the CO2 footprint aiming for a negative carbon footprint. This is known in the business world as carbon sequestration.
ESG is now even more important
We have boosted our profile based on our superior synthetic magnesium material in addition to our product’s low CO2 footprint. These days it is the climate threat that guides governments and consumers to consider what they buy.
In Europe it is now a requirement that companies comply with COP26 which is advantageous for us. For example the building industry is looking at using our product with prefabrication boards due to its low CO2 footprint but also its superior fire retarding properties, thermal installation and strength. Companies that use our material in their products are able to give suppliers and customers products with a lower CO2 footprint.
The Business Development Grant Opportunity is part of the Northern Australia Development Program which focuses on economic diversification and job creation through support for scaling up and growing businesses, including Indigenous businesses, in Northern Australian communities.
More information on these grants visit: Northern Australia Development Program – Business Development Grant Opportunity | business.gov.au