Aquatech and Momentum Technologies Partner to Scale US Mineral Refining

The collaboration targets the full lifecycle of mineral production, from raw feedstock to finished battery-grade compounds. Momentum’s patented MSX technology, developed alongside the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will be deployed within Aquatech’s established PEARL processing infrastructure. This move addresses the critical need for bankable, industrial-scale refining facilities capable of handling both primary ores and secondary sources like lithium-ion battery black mass.

Ravi Chidambaran, President and CTO at Aquatech, emphasized that the partnership provides a single point of accountability for resource owners, mitigating the risks often associated with complex mineral extraction. For Momentum, the integration offers a pathway to rapidly scale its refining capability for essential materials like neodymium, dysprosium, and cobalt. Mahesh Konduru, CEO of Momentum Technologies, noted that the combined solution is intended to bolster supply chains across diverse sectors, ranging from medical devices and power storage to defense applications.