What Regain does

Regain Materials (legally Regain Services Pty Ltd) is an Australian private industrial company founded in 1996 that operates a proprietary spent potliner (SPL) processing technology to transform hazardous waste from primary aluminum smelting into valuable mineralizer and flux products for the cement and clay brick industries. Spent potliner is a toxic aluminum smelting by-product containing cyanide and reactive gases; Regain's patented detoxification process destroys the cyanide and prevents explosive gas generation, allowing the material to be converted into the company's HiCAl product line (HiCAl-R, HiCAl-S, HiCAl 30, and HiCAl 40) and the brick-industry product Vitriflux. Across four Australian sites (Tomago, Kurri Kurri, Point Henry, Portland), the company has cumulatively transformed more than 300,000 tonnes of SPL with no residual material, and currently operates one active processing facility at Tomago under an NSW Environment Protection License alongside a Melbourne head office.

The company generates revenue through two streams: (1) processing fees paid by aluminum smelters for SPL detoxification services, and (2) sales of HiCAl products to cement manufacturers, where the products serve as flux, mineralizer, and alternative fuel/raw material substitute, with documented outcomes including up to 40% NOx reduction and energy savings more than 10x the energy used in SPL transformation. Regain operates a sales-led go-to-market with a direct, site-based distribution model — processing facilities are co-located at smelter sites to eliminate hazardous-waste transport risk, and finished HiCAl products are shipped both domestically and through export channels to cement markets in China, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Philippines, Thailand, North Africa, and North America, supported by Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) assistance since 2009.

The business is privately held with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or institutional investment; ownership structure and shareholder information are not public. Leadership is led by President and Managing Director Bernie Cooper (since 2011, 40+ years in industrial organizations) with VP Product Technology & Marketing Yves C. Zimmermann (formerly of Holcim, PhD in Chemistry) providing cement-industry technical depth. The company holds a 2008 Australian Government determination exempting its products from Basel Convention hazardous-waste export controls, a material regulatory asset underpinning its international distribution model. Two of the four historical smelter-site facilities (Kurri Kurri, Point Henry) have ceased operations as their host smelters closed, concentrating current production at Tomago where a capacity expansion project is underway.

Name

Regain

Legal name

Regain Services Pty Ltd

Website

https://regainmaterials.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Regain Materials is an Australian private company that uses proprietary detoxification technology to transform hazardous spent potliner from aluminum smelters into HiCAl mineralizer and flux products sold to cement manufacturers globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Waste Processing and Mineral Trading

NAICS

Chemical Manufacturing (325)

akta.pro primary industry

Chemical Tank Cleaning, Decontamination & Turnaround Waste Services (BPALAHAH)

Keywords

• Spent potliner processing
• Hazardous waste management
• Cement mineralizers
• Industrial ecology solutions
• Aluminum smelting byproducts

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. SPL Processing Services: Regain processes spent potliner (SPL) from aluminum smelters, transforming hazardous waste into non-hazardous products. Revenue is generated through processing fees paid by smelters and through the sale of derived products (HiCAl) to cement manufacturers.
2. HiCAl Product Sales: Sale of HiCAl products (high-quality processed materials) to cement manufacturers for use as flux, mineralizer, and alternative fuel/raw material substitute. Products include HiCAl-R, HiCAl-S, HiCAl 30, and HiCAl 40, each optimized for different cement production requirements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Regain operates a proprietary spent potliner (SPL) processing technology that converts hazardous waste from primary aluminum smelting into non-hazardous, high-value mineralizer and flux products for the cement and clay brick industries. The company co-locates processing facilities at smelter sites to receive SPL, detoxifies it (destroying cyanide and preventing explosive gas generation), and sells the resulting HiCAl product line (HiCAl-R, HiCAl-S, HiCAl 30, HiCAl 40) plus Vitriflux to industrial buyers globally.

Product overview

Regain is a green technology and mineral trading enterprise that operates a proprietary spent potliner (SPL) processing technology to transform hazardous waste from primary aluminum smelting into valuable by-products. The core offering consists of HiCAl products (HiCAl-R, HiCAl-S, HiCAl 30, and HiCAl 40) — specialized mineralizers and fluxes derived from SPL that are sold to the cement industry to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The company also produces Vitriflux for the clay brick industry. Regain operates processing facilities at aluminum smelter sites (Tomago, Kurri Kurri, Point Henry, Portland) where SPL is transformed through a proprietary detoxifying process that eliminates cyanide hazards and converts the material into quality-controlled products for downstream industrial use.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HiCAl: High Clinker Alite products used to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in cement manufacture. Includes HiCAl-R, HiCAl-S, HiCAl 30, and HiCAl 40 product lines.

Products and services

• HiCAl-R A specialized SPL-derived product for the cement industry providing fluoride and alkali values that act as fluxes and mineralizers in cement clinker production, lowering kiln operating temperatures and improving energy efficiency.
• HiCAl-S A specialized SPL-derived product for the cement industry formulated for specific cement production applications as a flux and mineralizer.
• HiCAl 30 An SPL-derived HiCAl product with approximately 30% fluoride content used as a mineralizer in cement manufacture to reduce energy consumption and improve clinker quality.
• HiCAl 40 An SPL-derived HiCAl product with approximately 40% fluoride content providing higher mineralizer concentration for cement kiln applications.
• Vitriflux A fluxing agent developed in partnership with Regain for the brick manufacturing industry, used to improve firing capabilities, reduce soaking temperatures (approximately 20°C reduction), and improve brick water absorption properties. Over 100 million bricks have been produced using this product.
• SPL Processing Services Hazardous waste processing service for aluminum smelters that takes spent potliner (SPL), destroys cyanide and reactive gas hazards via Regain's proprietary process, and converts the material into non-hazardous industrial feedstock for downstream industries. Services are operated at co-located smelter sites (e.g., Tomago).

Quantifiable outcome

• Net savings of 4.0t CO2e, 16.0 GJ thermal energy, and 350 kWh electrical energy per tonne of SPL processed
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supportive and core.

• Australian Trade Commission (Austrade)supportiveGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2009Austrade assisted Regain in establishing international export channels for HiCAl products, beginning with exports to China in 2009 and expanding to South East Asia and Latin America.
• Australian Government Department of EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Regain received formal advice from the Australian Government Department of Environment that Regain products were not classified as Hazardous Waste and were therefore not subject to export regulation under the Basel Convention. This regulatory validation enabled international expansion of the business.
• Alcoa (Point Henry Smelter)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Partnership with Alcoa at Point Henry smelter where Regain operated an SPL processing facility from 2006 to 2016, processing SPL from Point Henry and Portland smelters. The facility was located near Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
• Tomago AluminumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1983Long-term operational partnership at Tomago smelter where Regain operates an SPL processing facility. Tomago is one of Australia's largest aluminum smelters. Regain has been processing SPL at Tomago since 2002 with the facility achieving zero landfill and 100% SPL processed into valuable downstream products. A capacity expansion project is currently underway to increase processing capacity.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Umicore: Belgian materials technology and recycling company specializing in precious metals recycling, automotive catalysts, and clean mobility materials. Comparable to Regain in the broader industrial recycling and materials recovery space, with similar commitment to industrial ecology and circular economy principles.
• Stericycle: North American waste management services company specializing in regulated and compliance-based waste streams including medical, pharmaceutical, and industrial hazardous waste. Comparable to Regain as a regulated waste management services provider, though focused on different waste streams.
• Clean Harbors: North America's largest provider of hazardous waste management and environmental services with extensive treatment, disposal, and recycling infrastructure. Comparable to Regain as a broad hazardous waste services incumbent, though operating at significantly larger scale and across multiple waste streams rather than specializing in SPL processing.
• Heritage Environmental Services: US-based hazardous waste management and industrial services company providing treatment, disposal, and recycling across multiple industrial waste streams. Comparable to Regain's industrial hazardous waste processing capabilities, though operating primarily in North America across diverse waste types.
• Veolia: Global environmental services leader in water, waste, and energy management with operations across dozens of countries. Comparable to Regain in the broader environmental services and industrial waste processing space, though Veolia operates across many waste streams and geographies rather than specializing in SPL processing.
• Aurubis: Global leader in nonferrous metal recycling and processing, with operations in copper and precious metals recovery from secondary feedstocks. Comparable to Regain in the broader industrial metals recycling space, with similar expertise in recovering valuable materials from industrial by-products for downstream industrial use.

Emerging players

• Carbon Clean Solutions: UK-based carbon capture technology company focused on industrial decarbonization including cement industry applications. Adjacent peer to Regain in serving the cement industry's decarbonization priorities, though with technology focused on carbon capture rather than alternative raw materials.
• Calix Limited: Australian technology company developing low-emission cement, lime, and battery materials using proprietary mineral processing. Adjacent peer to Regain in serving the cement industry's decarbonization needs, though focused on direct emissions reduction and process technology rather than alternative raw materials.

Direct peers

• Befesa: Spanish-German industrial waste recycling company specializing in steel dust and aluminum salt slag processing into valuable by-products for downstream industries. Highly comparable to Regain's hazardous-waste-to-industrial-feedstock business model serving metals and adjacent industries, with similar site-based co-location at customer facilities.
• Geocycle: Holcim's global waste services subsidiary that co-processes industrial and municipal waste into alternative fuels and raw materials for cement production. Directly comparable to Regain's HiCAl product line - serving the same cement industry customers with alternative mineralizers and fuels derived from industrial waste streams.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Regain