Nanoporous Silica and Silicon

Game changing production of low-carbon, low-cost silicon materials.

What is Porous Silicon?

• Silicon produced via a low-temperature metallothermic reduction process
• Derived from unique silica deposit, enabling alternative processing method, controlled morphology and impurity profile
• Produced directly as porous silicon, avoiding conventional high-temperature smelting and post-processing

Why it matters?

• Intermediate silicon material designed to integrate into existing silicon-carbon and silicon anode architectures
• Suitable for blending, coating, and further optimisation by downstream manufacturers
• Low carbon footprint and low energy intensity relative to conventional MG-Si
• Designed to support scalable, cost-competitive silicon anode supply chains

Technology and validation status

• R&D program conducted in partnership with CSIRO (Australian Science Agency) and Curtin University in Western Australia
• Coin-cell fabrication and testing completed to validate electrochemical behaviour, carbon coating approaches to support silicon-carbon anode integration and test-work including larger-format cells, including pouch-cell concepts

Partnering focus

• Seeking collaboration with battery manufacturers, anode developers, and materials companies
• Target partners with capabilities in anode formulation, coating, cell assembly, and scale-up
• Positioned as a platform material for co-development rather than a finished anode product
• Vytas Nanoporous Silica is converted to Nanoporous Silicon producing a high purity Si metal retaining unique material surface properties
• Vytas processing avoids high energy furnaces and complex post processing of Silicon used to produce surface modified Silicon
• The NPS has disruptive and low-cost substitute potential in applications
• Vytas must now complete R&D work on characterising the materials and optimising the process for repeatability and scale.

Vytas’ next step is to build a Pilot Plant for nanoporous silicon production in Western Australia.