Calix Limited, an Australian mineral processing and carbon capture technology company, has announced that it has acquired the intellectual property rights of Novacem Limited in the UK.
Novacem is a technology company that had developed formulations for high strength cements using reactive magnesium oxide as the binder, in a process that also captures carbon dioxide in the products from air during setting.
Calix has developed its calcination technology for production of very reactive magnesium oxide binders from carbonate minerals such as magnesite and dolomite. Calix innovatively captures the carbon dioxide released from the minerals as they are transformed into the magnesium oxide binder.
Bringing the two technologies together in an integrated process now provides Calix with the pathway to manufacture building products with an overall carbon negative footprint. The pure carbon dioxide from processing the mineral can be sequestered in the ground or in plants, and this is replaced by carbon dioxide from the air during production of the building products.
Calix can enhance the binder with other minerals, such as its calcined kaolin and gypsum, to a suite of products ranging from structural concretes, tiles, and lightweight panels made from agricultural and municipal wastes - a foundation for a range of sustainable, carbon negative products.
Julian Dinsdale, Managing Director of Calix said, “This is a key milestone in our strategy to become a truly international operation; and a major opportunity for a well-financed Australian company to exploit this pioneering technology worldwide.”
