Gladstone-based Alpha HPA receives $21.7 million in funding from government

A Gladstone-based company is moving forward on its high purity alumina project that will support the global manufacture of LED screens and electric vehicles.

Alpha HPA Chief Operations Office Rob Williamson visited the Ebner-Fametec team in Austria recently to formally sign off on the announcement of their collaboration in the sapphire growth market.

A Gladstone-based company has been awarded up to $21.7 million in funding for the region’s first high purity alumina project.

Alpha HPA received a grant from the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning to support capital expenditure for Stage 2 of its alumina project.

The project will involve the commercialisation of high purity alumina and related products using the company’s proprietary licenced solvent extrication and HPA refining technology.

The HPA will then be sold into appropriate markets for the production of LED screens, semiconductors, and e-mobility – the latter used in the manufacture of electric vehicles.

The alumina project is currently in Stage 1 which involved a precursor production facility completing a successful commissioning and entering the “production ramp-up” stage.

A $15.5m federal government grant will now allow Alpha HPA to expand its facility to produce the company’s full range of high purity materials.

Alpha HPA Investor Relations’ Robert Lord said the funding was “crucial” for the business to achieve success on the world stage.

“The Queensland Government grant of $21.7m provides support to the capital expenditure for the stage 2 HPA First Project in Gladstone,” he said.

“We are honoured to receive commercial backing from the Queensland Government and welcome the state’s recognition of Alpha’s products in the key critical minerals space of LED, E-mobility and semiconductor markets.

The grants come amid a busy year for the company which in March announced a collaboration with Ebner-Fametec in the sapphire growth market.