Acceleware Ltd. announced that it has been awarded Phase 2 of a potash ore drying project by the International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII). The new project phase will advance Phase 1 work and is intended to further validate the use of radio frequency (RF) energy from Acceleware's Clean Tech Inverter (CTI) to dry potash ore and other minerals. IMII is a non-profit organization jointly funded by industry and government that is committed to developing and implementing innovative education, training, research and development partnerships for supporting a world-class minerals industry.

IMII's minerals industry members include BHP,ameco Corporation, Fission Uranium Corp., The Mosaic Company and Nutrien Ltd. Following a successful IMII Exploring Innovations Program project, which validated the potential for RF energy from the CTI to dry potash ore, Acceleware was invited to submit a subsequent proposal for additional project work. Phase 2 development includes the design, construction, and testing of prototype CTI-powered dryers at increasing scale. Objectives include validating the effectiveness of the technology and optimizing the dryer design.

Subsequent phases will focus on increasing the scale of the systems to support commercial production levels. The initial stage of Phase 2 includes the construction and testing of a 100 kilogram per hour drying system, and the final stage involves the development and testing of a larger (maximum 5 tonnes per hour) dryer upon successful completion of the 100 kilogram per hour tests. The overall project is intended to confirm that RF energy from the CTI can effectively and efficiently dry potash ore.

Acceleware?s CTI drying platform is expected to lower operating costs while significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions levels. Upon successful completion of Phase 2, IMII may continue development into Phase 3, which could include construction and testing of a small commercial scale dryer with a 30 tonne per hour capacity. A subsequent Phase 4 could include the construction and testing of a full commercial scale dryer with a capacity of up to 130 tonnes per hour.

Acceleware?s patented CTI is unique in its ability to economically decarbonize industrial heating applications even at very large scale. A commercial scale drying platform for mining will augment Acceleware?s portfolio of decarbonization applications. Currently, Acceleware is in final phases of testing at its commercial scale pilot for electrification of heavy oil production via RF XL, the first of several industrial heating applications that Acceleware is commercializing.

Additional work is underway at Acceleware for decarbonization of other heavy emitting industrial heating applications that will play a critical role in a successful energy transition, including agricultural drying and the production of hydrogen via methane pyrolysis.