Metallium
Metallium Ltd commercializes Rice University-licensed Flash Joule Heating technology to recover critical and precious metals from electronic waste, lithium batteries, red mud, and ores, serving U.S. semiconductor, defense, and commodity-trading customers from its Texas facility.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2024
- HeadquartersSubiaco, Australia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Metallium does
Metallium Ltd is an Australian-domiciled, ASX-listed critical metals company (ASX:MTM, OTCQX:MTLMY) commercializing Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology under a global license from Rice University. FJH is an electro-thermal process that passes direct current through feedstock, generating instantaneous internal temperatures above 3,000°C to convert refractory metal compounds into forms amenable to conventional extraction, with no chemical solvents required. The company is deploying FJH at its Texas Technology Campus in Houston targeting Stage 1 capacity of 8,000 tonnes per annum of printed circuit board feedstock, with binding supply and offtake contracts covering approximately 50% of that throughput anchored by Glencore's commitment of up to 2,400 tpa of shredded e-scrap and up to 75% of recycled metal output. A 10-year offtake with Indium Corporation provides long-duration demand certainty for recycled gallium, germanium, and indium into semiconductor supply chains.
The company generates revenue through three primary streams: (1) processing fees and metal recovery sales from commercial-scale e-waste processing in Texas, (2) non-dilutive U.S. government SBIR contracts — Phase I completed in six months (versus typical twelve) and Phase II awarded at $1M for twelve months — and (3) potential licensing of the FJH platform to third-party operators. The customer base is concentrated in three verticals: U.S. semiconductor and electronics manufacturers (Indium Corporation), U.S. defense and government agencies (DLA/Department of War), and global commodity traders (Glencore). Adjacent applications include lithium battery black mass recycling, bauxite residue (red mud) processing — including a $30M DoD-funded ElementUSA collaboration in Louisiana — coal fly ash critical metal extraction, and rare earth refining (Harts Range Project with New Frontier Minerals). Metallium raised A$75 million in January 2026 led by U.S. institutional investors and is pursuing a Nasdaq uplist expected in Q3/Q4 2026 to broaden access to U.S. capital markets ahead of commercial scale-up.
Metallium firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Metallium
- Legal name
- Metallium Ltd
- Website
- https://metalliuminc.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2024
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Metallium Ltd commercializes Rice University-licensed Flash Joule Heating technology to recover critical and precious metals from electronic waste, lithium batteries, red mud, and ores, serving U.S. semiconductor, defense, and commodity-trading customers from its Texas facility.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Metallium industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Critical Metals Recovery from E-Waste and Industrial Waste Streams
- NAICS
- Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Smelting and Refining (33141), Secondary Smelting, Refining, and Alloying of Nonferrous Metal (except Copper and Aluminum) (331492)
- SIC
- Secondary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3341)
- akta.pro primary industry
- E-Waste & Electronics Metal Recovery (ITAD, Circuit Boards, Precious Metal Recovery) (IMAKAMAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Metals Recycling & Processing (Ferrous/Non-Ferrous) (BPALADAF), Copper Recycling & Secondary Copper Smelting/Refining (IMAKADAK), Precious & Specialty Metal Recovery (Smelting, Refining, Hydrometallurgy) (EUAIAIAD)
Keywords
Where Metallium is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Subiaco
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices3 records
Markets served
Metallium business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations
Revenue model
- Metal Recovery Processing Fees: Metallium processes e-waste feedstock (currently targeting 8,000 tpa Stage 1 capacity) through its Flash Joule Heating facilities and earns processing fees for recovering critical and precious metals. The company has binding contracts covering 50% of Stage 1 throughput target.
- Recycled Critical Metals Sales: Sale of recovered metals including gallium, germanium, indium, gold, copper, silver, and rare earth elements. The 10-year offtake agreement with Indium Corporation provides long-term demand certainty for recycled gallium, germanium, and indium with formula-based pricing.
- SBIR Contract Revenue: U.S. Department of War SBIR contracts provide non-dilutive funding: Phase I completed successfully, Phase II awarded for $1 million over 12 months to advance gallium and germanium recovery technology at the Texas Technology Campus.
- Licensing and Technology Deployment: Global license from Rice University to commercialize Flash Joule Heating technology for metal recovery from e-waste, black mass, red mud, coal fly ash, and ores. Potential licensing of technology to other facilities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Indium Corporation 10-year offtake agreement |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Metallium product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Metallium commercializes Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology under a global license from Rice University, recovering critical and precious metals from electronic waste, lithium-ion battery black mass, bauxite residue (red mud), coal fly ash, and ores. The company operates processing facilities at the Texas Technology Campus and Gator Point Technology Campus, with a Stage-1 throughput target of 8,000 tpa of printed circuit board feedstock, and partners with Glencore for feedstock and Indium Corporation for a 10-year offtake of recovered gallium, germanium, and indium.
Product overview
Metallium operates a dual-focus business: (1) Flash Joule Heating (FJH) Technology Platform — a proprietary electro-thermal metal recovery system using rapid high-temperature electrical pulses for extracting metals from e-waste, lithium batteries, bauxite residue (red mud), and coal fly ash; and (2) Mineral Exploration Projects — gold and critical minerals exploration in Western Australia (East Laverton, Mt Monger, West Arunta) and Quebec, Canada (Pomme REE-Nb). The FJH technology serves as the core processing platform for commercial metal recovery operations at the Texas Technology Campus, while the exploration projects represent the company's upstream asset portfolio for future feedstock supply and strategic mineral resources.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Flash Joule Heating (FJH) Technology Platform Proprietary electro-thermal Flash Joule Heating platform using rapid high-temperature electrical pulses exceeding 3,000°C in milliseconds to facilitate metal recovery from electronic waste, lithium-ion battery black mass, bauxite residue (red mud), coal fly ash, and ores, commercialized under a global license from Rice University.
- E-Waste (PCB) Metal Recovery Services Commercial processing of printed circuit boards and electronic scrap at the Texas Technology Campus (Stage-1 target 8,000 tpa) to recover gold, silver, copper, zinc, tin, lead, nickel, gallium, germanium, indium, platinum, and palladium using Flash Joule Heating.
- Lithium Battery (Black Mass) Recycling Recovery of lithium, copper, manganese, cobalt, nickel, and other valuable metals from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries using FJH as a pre-treatment step prior to acid leaching.
- Bauxite Residue (Red Mud) Processing Recovery of residual aluminum and critical metals including titanium, rare earth elements, scandium, and gallium from bauxite residue (red mud), an industrial waste stream from alumina refining, including via a $30 million DoD-funded collaboration with ElementUSA for Louisiana red mud processing.
- Coal Fly Ash Critical Metal Extraction Recovery of rare earth elements and critical metals from coal fly ash by improving susceptibility to acid leaching through Flash Joule Heating treatment.
- Pomme REE-Nb Project (Quebec, Canada) Rare earth elements and niobium mineral exploration project in Quebec, Canada, covering 2,400 ha with proven carbonatite mineralization over 478m from historic drill holes; subject to a binding option and earn-in agreement with New Frontier Minerals for 90% interest while Metallium retains FJH technology application rights.
- East Laverton Gold Project (Western Australia) Gold, rare earth elements, nickel and base metals exploration project covering approximately 3,000 km² in the highly prospective East Laverton region of Western Australia.
- Mt Monger Gold Project (Western Australia) Gold exploration project comprising a contiguous tenement package covering ~100 km² in the highly prospective Mt Monger region, 70 km southeast of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
- West Arunta Niobium-REE Project (Western Australia) Niobium and rare earth elements exploration project covering ~140 km² in Western Australia's West Arunta region, adjacent to WA1 Resources and Encounter Resources tenements.
Quantifiable outcome
- 86-97% gallium recovery rate vs 70-85% for conventional methods
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Metallium
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Metallium technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Metallium partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core/flagship, minor and strategic.
- U.S. Department of War (Defense Logistics Agency)core/flagship$1 million Phase II SBIR contract to recover gallium and germanium from electronic waste streams. Follows successful Phase I completion achieving all technical milestones in 6 months (half standard timeframe). Project based at Texas Technology Campus targeting pilot-scale deployment and process readiness beyond pilot demonstration.
- Indium Corporationcore/flagship10-year offtake agreement with Indium Corporation for supply of recycled gallium, germanium, and indium. Agreement includes formula-based pricing and auto-renewal options. Supports U.S. semiconductor supply chains by offering faster alternative to primary mining for critical minerals.
- Dynamic Lifecycle InnovationsminorPartnership for e-waste processing as part of Metallium's diversified supply base building for its Texas facility operations.
- Plastic Recycling Inc.minorPartnership for e-waste processing as part of Metallium's diversified supply base building for its Texas facility operations.
- ElementUSAstrategic$30 million DoD-funded collaboration for Louisiana red mud processing using Metallium's Flash Joule Heating technology. Part of broader commercial expansion strategy.
- New Frontier MineralsstrategicBinding option and earn-in agreement for New Frontier Minerals to acquire 90% interest in Pomme REE Project in Quebec from Metallium. Metallium retains technology application rights and potential future collaboration on rare earth processing using FJH technology.
- Glencorecore/flagshipBinding supply agreement for up to 2,400 metric tons of shredded electronic scrap annually to Metallium's Texas facility. Glencore also commits to purchase up to 75% of Metallium's recycled metal products. Partnership provides both feedstock supply security and output market access, validating FJH technology for commercial-scale operations.
- New Frontier MineralsstrategicPartnership to develop Western rare-earth refining pathway utilizing FJH technology on material from Harts Range Project in Australia. FJH treatment significantly enriched heavy rare-earth elements dysprosium and terbium from raw ore with single-step process, securing exclusive rights for future application.
- Rice Universitycore/flagshipRice University researchers validated new method to recover rare earth elements from magnet waste using Flash Joule Heating. Peer-reviewed findings confirm technique's potential for more efficient, environmentally friendly metal recovery at scale. Plans to develop pilot plant in Texas.
- Rice Universitycore/flagshipGlobal licensing agreement from Rice University to commercialize Flash Joule Heating technology for metal recovery from ores and waste materials. Rice University developed and owns the FJH intellectual property. Collaboration involves technology refinement and optimization for specific industrial applications.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Metallium competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Umicore: Global materials technology and recycling group with major operations in precious metals recycling, battery materials, and catalysts. Directly comparable to Metallium as a large-scale recycler of critical and precious metals from secondary feedstocks, though with a much broader portfolio spanning automotive catalysts and battery cathode materials.
- Aurubis: European copper smelter and recycler with integrated multi-metal recovery operations processing complex feedstocks including electronics scrap. Comparable to Metallium in copper and precious metals recovery from secondary sources, but operates at much larger scale and primarily via pyrometallurgical rather than electro-thermal processes.
- Dowa Holdings: Japanese non-ferrous metals company with significant e-waste recycling operations, recovering gold, silver, copper, and rare metals from electronic scrap. Directly comparable to Metallium in e-waste PCB feedstock processing and precious/critical metal recovery, with established Asian automotive and electronics customer relationships.
- Boliden: Swedish mining and smelting company with significant electronics and metal recycling operations in northern Europe. Comparable to Metallium in multi-metal recovery from secondary feedstocks (e-waste, scrap) and integrated smelting operations, though with much larger existing scale and European geographic focus.
Direct peers
- Li-Cycle: North America-focused battery recycling company using a hydrometallurgical 'spoke-and-hub' model to produce black mass and recover critical battery metals. Directly comparable to Metallium's black mass recycling line, though Li-Cycle focuses specifically on lithium-ion batteries rather than the broader e-waste / PCB feedstock Metallium targets.
- Cirba Solutions: U.S.-based electronic materials and critical minerals processor focused on e-waste recycling and battery materials recovery. Directly comparable to Metallium in PCB / e-waste feedstock processing targeting critical and precious metals in North America, with a similar customer profile in semiconductor and electronics supply chains.
Emerging players
- Redwood Materials: U.S. battery recycling and critical materials company founded by a former Tesla CTO, recovering lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper from end-of-life batteries and production scrap. Comparable to Metallium in the U.S. critical metals supply chain mission and end-market overlap (battery materials), with strong U.S. policy tailwinds but focused solely on battery feedstocks.
- Aqua Metals: U.S. company developing hydrometallurgical and electrochemical recycling technologies for lead and critical battery metals. Partially comparable to Metallium in applying non-pyrometallurgical processes for metals recovery and targeting U.S. supply chain security, though focused on lead-acid battery chemistries.
- Rethink Materials: Early-stage U.S. critical minerals recovery startup applying novel separation and recovery technologies to e-waste streams for rare earth and critical metal recovery. Comparable to Metallium as a U.S.-based emerging player in critical metals recovery from electronics waste, though at earlier commercial stage.
Others
- Glencore: Global commodity trader and miner with major copper, cobalt, zinc, and recycling operations. Both an anchor feedstock supplier (2,400 tpa e-scrap) and offtake buyer (up to 75% of recycled metals) for Metallium, making Glencore simultaneously partner, customer, and competitor in critical metals recovery and trading.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Metallium social profiles
Digital presenceMetallium financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Metallium leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Metallium subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
Metallium funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Metallium M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Metallium
What does Metallium do?
Metallium commercializes Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology under a global license from Rice University, recovering critical and precious metals from electronic waste, lithium-ion battery black mass, bauxite residue (red mud), coal fly ash, and ores. The company operates processing facilities at the Texas Technology Campus and Gator Point Technology Campus, with a Stage-1 throughput target of 8,000 tpa of printed circuit board feedstock, and partners with Glencore for feedstock and Indium Corporation for a 10-year offtake of recovered gallium, germanium, and indium.
Is Metallium a public or private company?
Metallium is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Metallium founded?
Metallium was founded in 2024. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Metallium based?
Metallium is headquartered in Subiaco, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Metallium make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Metal Recovery Processing Fees are the primary driver. The others are recycled Critical Metals Sales, SBIR Contract Revenue and licensing and Technology Deployment.
Who are Metallium's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Umicore, Aurubis, Dowa Holdings and Boliden. Direct peers are Li-Cycle and Cirba Solutions. Emerging players are Redwood Materials, Aqua Metals and Rethink Materials. Glencore is listed as an others.
Does Metallium have an API?
No public API is recorded for Metallium.
What industry is Metallium in?
Metallium's product category is Critical Metals Recovery from E-Waste and Industrial Waste Streams. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAKAMAG, E-Waste & Electronics Metal Recovery (ITAD, Circuit Boards, Precious Metal Recovery), with a secondary code of BPALADAF, Metals Recycling & Processing (Ferrous/Non-Ferrous). Its NAICS code is 33141 and its SIC code is 3341.