Precision Periodic plans Florida refinery for battery-grade nickel, cobalt and manganese

Precision Periodic says it will build a modular clean-process refinery in Central Florida to convert nickel MHP into battery-grade nickel, cobalt and manganese products. The project is meant to fill a gap in U.S. critical minerals refining and could begin production in months rather than years if the company secures a facility.

Why it matters: - Precision Periodic says the project targets a major U.S. supply-chain weakness: the country has little domestic refining capacity for battery-grade nickel, cobalt and manganese. - The refinery is designed to produce inputs used in EV batteries, energy storage, stainless steel, industrial alloys, aerospace alloys and defense supply chains. - The company says a domestic refining base could reduce reliance on foreign processing for critical minerals.

What happened: - Precision Periodic announced plans to build what it says will be America's first modular, clean-process refinery for battery-grade nickel, cobalt and manganese. - The facility will be located in Central Florida. - The refinery is designed to convert nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate, or MHP, into battery-grade nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate and manganese sulfate. - Full capacity is targeted at 10,000 tons per year of contained nickel.

The details: - Precision Periodic says the refinery uses proprietary filtration media and modular Multi-Scale Refining Units, or MSRUs. - Each skid is designed to process about one ton per day of contained nickel. - The same equipment and media are used to separate and refine nickel, cobalt and manganese from MHP feedstock. - The company says scaling comes from replicating modular units rather than re-engineering a large unproven plant. - Precision Periodic says the process uses non-toxic commodity reagents, generates no hazardous waste and uses no water. - The company says the approach reduces capital and operating costs compared with solvent extraction, the carbonyl process and membranes. - The planned refinery fits inside a standard industrial building rather than requiring greenfield construction. - Precision Periodic expects initial units to start production within months of securing a facility. - The company says the plant could ramp to 10,000 tons per year within 12 to 18 months. - Precision Periodic says conventional refineries often take years and more than $500 million to build. - The company says toxic gas-phase nickel refining methods have faced regulatory review, zoning rejections and community opposition elsewhere in the U.S. - Precision Periodic says its process avoids those permitting delays because the facility handles no hazardous gas streams. - The company chose Central Florida for access to major ports in Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami. - Those ports would be used to receive nickel MHP feedstock and ship finished sulfate products to customers across the Southeast. - Precision Periodic plans to source feedstock from a globally diversified group of nickel MHP suppliers. - The company expects the project to create skilled jobs in advanced manufacturing and materials science in Central Florida.

Between the lines: - The announcement is as much about manufacturing speed as mining supply. - Precision Periodic is betting that a modular, repeatable process can sidestep the financing, engineering and permitting hurdles that slow conventional refineries. - The company is also pitching the facility as a regional economic anchor, not just a single industrial plant. - The claims about lower costs, faster timelines and scale-up reflect the company's estimates and have not been independently verified.

What's next: - Precision Periodic plans to secure a facility and begin initial production in months, not years, if the project moves forward as planned. - The company expects to build toward full 10,000-ton-per-year capacity over the next 12 to 18 months. - Precision Periodic says future expansion will depend on financing, permitting, feedstock supply, technical performance at scale and market conditions.

The bottom line: - Precision Periodic is trying to turn U.S. critical minerals refining into a modular manufacturing business, with Central Florida as the launch point.