Baniql

Market position

BANIQL positions itself as an independent, non-HPAL alternative in a Class 1 nickel supply chain it describes as highly concentrated, noting Indonesia accounts for roughly 60% of mined nickel supply and that refining is concentrated in fewer hands. The company cites projections of nickel demand growing roughly 2-3x by 2035 for EV batteries, aerospace and turbine superalloys, and a structural Class 1 nickel deficit around 2028-2030 (attributed to Benchmark Minerals and Fastmarkets). It is at angel/seed stage per Preqin, with technology validated at pre-pilot rather than commercial scale.

Compared with HPAL, BANIQL's route eliminates high-temperature, high-pressure autoclaves, operating instead at up to 95 °C and about 1 bar, which the company associates with substantially lower energy use, lower capital intensity and a smaller footprint suited to modular refineries. It also emphasizes selective nickel leaching with iron rejection and the conversion of residues into saleable fertilizer and magnesium products rather than long-term acidic tailings storage. Preqin additionally cites energy savings, zero toxic waste and a 50% reduction in water usage.

Technology

The BEST process is an atmospheric leach operating at up to 95 °C and roughly 1 bar, selectively dissolving nickel while rejecting iron and tripling nickel concentration, producing mixed hydroxide precipitate and, in the next phase, battery-grade nickel sulfate. The company reports approximately 70-80% less energy use than HPAL, with indexed energy intensity of 25 and carbon footprint of 20 versus HPAL at 100 and conventional atmospheric leaching at 70 and 65 respectively. Residues are engineered for recovery as ammonium sulfate fertilizer and magnesium hydroxide instead of acidic tailings. Intellectual property comprises one granted US patent and two international (PCT) applications, with filings in 2022 and 2024 combined with a trade-secret strategy. The process is validated at TRL 6 at a pre-pilot facility processing more than 100 kg/day of ore.

Go-to-market

The company engages prospective buyers through sample distribution and offtake discussions, having shipped battery-grade MHP for evaluation by potential customers in Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the United States and signed a non-binding offtake LOI with a Korean customer estimated at US$16.5-21M. Upstream, it has a long-term, non-binding ore-supply MoU in Indonesia built on relationships with established mining partners. Geographic expansion announced with its 2024 seed round targeted Indonesia, Australia, South Korea and the Philippines, and the October 2025 round was framed around scaling processing capacity and expanding across Asia. Participation in accelerator and recognition programs - Third Derivative (RMI), Creative Destruction Lab, TIPS Global Project (Korea), NVIDIA Inception and the Climate Impact Innovations Challenge - supports investor and customer development.

Battery-materials and cathode precursor producers requiring Class 1 nickel, principally in Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the United States, plus aerospace and energy customers using nickel superalloys; by-product streams target agricultural fertilizer buyers and magnesium product markets.

Geography

Headquartered in California (Preqin lists San Jose) with a Delaware holding company, a pre-pilot facility and 13-person team in Indonesia, and BANIQL Korea with three staff; the US team numbers eight. Investors are described as spanning the US, Asia and Europe, and customer evaluation activity covers Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the United States.

History

2021: first experiments, California incorporation and patent search. 2022: two Santa Clara labs, first patent filing, third-party sample validation in South Korea. February 2023: Delaware holding company established; July 2023: first US patent application published by the USPTO; September 2023: named among winners of the inaugural Climate Impact Innovations Challenge run by East Ventures and Temasek Foundation. 2024: pre-pilot facility built and commissioned in Indonesia and a $1.6M seed round announced in May. 2025: pre-pilot entered continuous operation in February; BANIQL Korea incorporated; a second patent filed; selection for the TIPS Global Project (Korea) and NVIDIA Inception; graduation from Creative Destruction Lab; WIPO Global Award finalist; an additional US$1.25M seed raised. 2026 to date: reached TRL 6, signed a non-binding offtake LOI with a Korean customer and a long-term non-binding ore-supply MoU, and was selected into Third Derivative's (RMI) global climate-tech cohort.

Risks & controversies

Key commercial commitments are non-binding: the offtake letter of intent with the Korean customer and the Indonesian ore-supply MoU are both described as non-binding, and the LOI value is an estimate. The process is validated only at pre-pilot scale (TRL 6, >100 kg/day of ore), with nickel sulfate and nickel metal still in development and magnesium by-product recovery at lab-prototype stage, leaving commercial-scale performance unproven. Comparative energy, carbon and waste figures are company-supplied and described as indicative. Sources also differ on roles: Capital Brief (2024) and Preqin identify Willy Halim as CEO, while the company website lists Eric Januar as CEO and Willy Halim as CTO.