How I made this: Dave Sammut - Loop Hydrometallurgy
Meet a Macquarie Park entrepreneur looking to bring clean technology innovation in copper production to help accelerate the clean energy transition, Dave Sammut from Loop Hydrometallurgy.
Founder & CEO, Dave and his team are on a mission to provide a more efficient, cheaper and cleaner method of producing copper and clinical minerals which are essential to the clean energy transition. Copper is a crucial component for renewable energy technologies, with demand only set to increase as it is the most cost effective conductor of electricity.
“We'll need to mine more copper in the next 24 years that has been mined in all of human history to date”, says Dave, highlighting the significant output that’ll be required to produce sufficient copper.
In 2021 the startup made a technological breakthrough that's an alternative to smelting that converts copper minerals into clean, high-grade copper metal all the while redefining the industry cost curve for copper production.
The Halion Loop produces no noxious gas emissions and no liquid effluents which can be used directly at the mine site saving significant transport costs and emissions.
“Macquarie Park was the best fit for the startup with its network of startups, established and growing companies” says Dave.
The startup resides at the Macquarie University Deeptech Incubator which, as Dave says, provides an “amazing resources for any startup with wonderful labs, entrepreneurship support, mentor and support programs”.
Dave has ambitious goals for Loop including the potential to be a $1 billion company in 10 years.
The startup’s innovation has already been recognised including: winning the Innovation Hour event at the recent Copper to the World conference, being recognised as an Innovation Champion at Unearthed’s recent 10th birthday celebrations and being a nominated as a semi-finalist for the 2024 Australian Technologies Competition.
