Psst, wanna buy some boron nitride nanotubes? PPK has cut the price of the 'world's strongest fibre' by 62pc

PPK Group announced a breakthrough on BNTT technology
The company said it was able to reduce the price of BNNT to US$150/gram, from US$400/gram
BNNT is used in many applications, including the hot battery sector

PPK Group (ASX: PPK) surged 16% this morning after announcing that its subsidiary, BNNT Technology, has significantly reduced the price of its Australian-made boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT) following a series of production improvements.

BNNT Tech says its pricing for BNNT now starts from US$150/gram, a huge markdown versus the approximately US$400/gram offered by competitors.

In 2021, a gram of BNNT was selling for US$850 per gram because no one was able to produce it in commercial quantities.

PPK’s commercial director, Lieuwke de Jong, said reducing the unit cost of BNNT has been a significant focus area for the company over the last few years.

“I speak with potential customers daily and the conversation inevitably turns to cost.

“There are many use cases where the end product would be improved with the addition of our nanomaterials, but until now, the cost has been prohibitive,” said de Jong.

He adds that while the premium end of the market will always be crucial to success, PPK’s aim is to ensure that adoption of these super materials can be as widespread as possible, including through the development of derivatives.

What is BNNT ?

BNNT is a multi-use super material that can produce a ‘fibre’ 100 times stronger than steel but as light as carbon fibre, super flexible, more thermally conductive than copper, and able to sustain high temperatures of up to 1000 degrees without degrading.

The market has recently focused the use of BNNT on lithium sulphur batteries, which have massive markets such as EVs, drones, cell phones.

BNNT is also ideal for the aviation and space industries, as its super light weight can reduce the weight of componentry while maintaining structural integrity by boasting a first-class strength-to-weight ratio.

In addition, the technology is being used in small quantities to polymers, resins, fibres, precious metals, and glass to improve their mechanical properties.

“Scientists and industry have been aware of the incredible properties of BNNT for many years, but the cost of production has been a huge obstacle to widespread testing and utilisation of the nanomaterial,” said PPK CEO, Marc Fenton.

“By lowering the cost substantially, we will improve access and ensure more companies can test and validate the performance of BNNT in their products.”

Fenton believes the oppoetunity is huge, as many potential applications of BNNT are still in their development stage.

“These have been made more achievable now as a consequence of our investment to drive the cost of production down,” he said.

PPK Group meanwhile invests in high-potential science and technology companies with a current focus on nanomaterials, energy storage solutions. and artificial intelligence.

The company’s current portfolio of investments includes ASX-listed lithium sulphur battery technology group Li-S Energy (ASX: LIS), energy storage solutions company PowerPlus Energy, and nanomaterials producer BNNT Technology.

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