Seloxium raises seed funding to fast-track commercialisation of metal purification tech

The proposition is said to offer a selective, fast and robust pathway to extract critical and valuable metals – such as platinum-group metals, rare earth elements, and gold – from difficult to treat industrial and mining wastes.

Seloxium is built on pioneering research that enables the sustainable extraction of critical metals while also preventing toxic metals from entering the wider environment, at a fraction of the usual carbon footprint.

The funding round was co-led by Oxford Science Enterprises and MKS PAMP, a global leader in the precious metals industry, alongside the University of Oxford and new and existing angel investors who bring expertise and strategic guidance to Seloxium.

Dr Christian Peters, Director and CEO of Seloxium, said: “This investment marks a transformational moment for Seloxium. With our novel technology, waste can be an asset rather than a liability.

“Instead of these metals being lost or discharged into the environment, we recover them cost-effectively, offering a sustainable and circular pathway for industries that depend on them. With the backing of OSE, MKS PAMP, and our investors, we can further scale our technology and accelerate commercial deployment.”

Each year, vast quantities of valuable metals are lost through industrial processes and not effectively recycled. Accumulated losses of precious metals during waste management and recycling are estimated at 30,000 tons, according to Nature Sustainability.

This equates to more than $10 billion worth of metals discarded from electronic waste alone. In addition, it is estimated that more than $3.4 trillion of critical and valuable metals are locked up in mine tailings, the recovery of which Seloxium is developing using it’s fast, selective and low capex process.

Extraction of critical metals from waste circumvents traditional mining and extraction methods which come with high financial and environmental costs, with over 25 tons of CO2 emitted for every kilogram of platinum-group metals mined.

Seloxium’s proprietary Selectal™ technology is said to provide industries with an efficient and scalable solution for extracting high-purity metals from complex waste streams.

By extracting these metals directly from industrial waste streams, Seloxium provides higher recovery rates, with a faster process, at lower cost – helping industries reduce waste, comply with regulations, and secure sustainable supplies of essential materials.