Empire Metals (AIM:EEE), the Australian exploration and development company, said its research programme with Murdoch University has been accepted into the Critical Metals for Critical Industries CRC (CMCI CRC).
The CRC is an Australian government-backed initiative supporting critical metals refining innovation, and received AUD$53 million in funding over ten years when it was established in March 2026.
Empire's work within the CRC targets a pathway to produce titanium metal directly from Pitfield's TiO₂ product using molten salt electrolysis (MSE) and other conversion technologies powered by renewable energy.
The first project phases are due to complete in early 2027, aiming to prove Pitfield's TiO₂ feedstock is suitable for titanium metal production and to map a scale-up strategy toward continuous pilot operations.
Titanium is produced almost exclusively today via the Kroll process, an energy-intensive batch method developed in the 1940s that has confined the metal largely to aerospace, defence and medical uses despite its natural abundance.
MSE instead reduces TiO₂ directly to titanium metal in a single electrochemical step, with potential for higher purity, lower energy use, fewer hazardous by-products and better scalability once adapted for continuous processing.
Empire said a successful outcome would support domestic titanium production capability in Australia, reinforcing the strategic importance of the Pitfield Titanium Project to regional and Western titanium supply chains.
Results from the first project phase are expected in early 2027.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Empire Metals' Murdoch University research programme has been accepted into Australia's government-backed CMCI CRC, a A$53 million ten-year initiative supporting critical metals innovation. The partnership targets a lower-cost, lower-energy route to titanium metal from Pitfield's TiO₂ feedstock using molten salt electrolysis—a single-step process that could displace the energy-intensive Kroll method dominant since the 1940s. First-phase results are due in early 2027, aiming to validate feedstock suitability and map a scale-up path toward continuous pilot operations, positioning Pitfield as a potential anchor for domestic Australian titanium production.
Acceptance into a government-backed CRC de-risks the technology pathway and signals official backing for Pitfield's strategic importance to Australian supply chains. Success in early 2027 could materially accelerate the project's transition from resource definition toward commercial-scale processing, though the outcome remains unproven and contingent on MSE proving viable at scale.
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