Altech Chemicals has been handed the manufacturing licence it needs for its 4500-tonne-per-annum high purity alumina (HPA) plant under construction in Johor, Malaysia.

HPA is a high-value material needed for lithium-ion battery components and synthetic sapphire used in LED lights, semiconductor wafers and scratch-resistant smartphone glass.

Altech (ASX:ATC) is the most advanced of the four ASX-listed HPA players, which have witnessed strong share price gains since March last year.

The Malaysian government has now granted the official manufacturing licence after no objections were raised by the Johor state government.

Financing for the project is expected to be finalised by mid-year.

Earlier this year Altech agreed on a $240 million loan from German government-owned KfW IPEX-Bank to build the Malaysian HPA plant — but the release of the funds depends on securing the rest of the necessary funding.

Altech Chemicals (ASX:ATC) shares over the past year.
Altech Chemicals (ASX:ATC) shares over the past year.

The company is considering the options of mezzanine debt, joint venture or equity raising.

Altech paid the final $5.1 million for the HPA plant site in May.

The company is aiming to be one of the world’s leading suppliers of 99.99 per cent high purity alumina.

Earlier this year Altech lodged an Australian provisional patent application for its finished product HPA technology.

HPA is currently a small global market of about 25,000 tonnes annually.

But that is tipped to grow to around 48,000 tonnes by 2025 and 86,000 tonnes by 2030.