About BANIQL

Green nickel, built by operators.

Indonesia supplies roughly 60% of the world’s mined nickel, refining is concentrated in even fewer hands, and Class 1 nickel is projected to flip into structural deficit around 2028–2030. BANIQL turns nickel ore into battery-grade MHP today, with nickel sulfate and nickel metal in development — without HPAL’s autoclaves.

We are TRL 6 today: a pre-pilot in Indonesia operating continuously since February 2025, product evaluated by potential customers across Asia and North America, and a signed, non-binding offtake LOI.

US$3.3M
Raised across pre-seed and seed rounds: 3
Patents — 1 granted, 2 international filed: >100 kg/day
Ore processed at our pre-pilot facility: >1,000 kg
Battery-grade MHP produced and evaluated by potential customers

The team · Indonesia pre-pilot · 2025

Who we are

Chemists, engineers, operators.

A cleaner process

Roughly 70–80% less energy than HPAL, selectively leaching nickel while rejecting iron, at atmospheric pressure with no autoclaves. Residues are designed for recovery as agricultural fertilizer and magnesium products — fertilizer in field trials, magnesium at prototype.

Direct access to resource

A long-term, non-binding ore-supply MoU in Indonesia anchors feedstock for scale-up, built on lasting relationships with established mining partners.

Our history

TRL 6, five years from a backyard experiment

Latest year first — every step proven, not promised.

2026

Commercial

Year to date

TRL 6 and commercial milestones

Reached TRL 6; signed a non-binding offtake LOI (estimated US$16.5–21M) with a Korean customer; signed a long-term, non-binding ore-supply MoU; selected into Third Derivative's (RMI) global climate-tech cohort.

2025

Scale-up

February

Continuous pre-pilot operation

The pre-pilot facility entered continuous operation, processing over 100 kg/day of ore.

Full year

Scale-up and recognition

Built out the pre-pilot operation; raised an additional US$1.25M seed; incorporated BANIQL Korea; filed a second patent; selected for TIPS Global Project (Korea) and NVIDIA Inception; graduated from Creative Destruction Lab; named a WIPO Global Award finalist.

2024

Pre-pilot

Full year

Pre-pilot built in Indonesia

Pre-pilot facility built and commissioned in Indonesia.

2023

IP published

Feb

Delaware holding

BANIQL Corp. Delaware holding established.

Jul

First patent published

First US patent application published by the USPTO.

2022

Lab to validation

Jan

First lab

Opened our first lab in Santa Clara, CA.

May

Second lab

Moved to a second, larger lab in Santa Clara, CA.

Jul

First patent filed

Filed our first patent for the core chemistry and process.

Dec

Product validated

Samples successfully evaluated by a third party in South Korea.

2021

First principles

Jan

Willy's backyard

First extraction experiments begin.

Oct

BANIQL Corp. incorporated

Incorporated in California.

Nov

Patent search

Comprehensive patent search report completed for our core idea.

Traction & credibility

What we have proven

Funding

Raised US$3.3M across pre-seed and seed rounds (2021–2025)
Backed by institutional investors and angels across the US, Asia, and Europe
Selected for TIPS Global Project (Korea) and NVIDIA Inception

Technology

Developed a non-HPAL chemistry and process for Class 1 nickel
1 US patent granted and 2 international (PCT) applications filed
Reached TRL 6, validated at pre-pilot scale

Team

Operator-grade advisors from across the global nickel and battery supply chain
Founders from UC Berkeley, Cornell and KAIST with battery and hydrometallurgy backgrounds
Built teams across the US, Indonesia, and Korea

Scale Up

Pre-pilot facility operating in Indonesia since February 2025
Processing more than 100 kg/day of ore
Produced over 1,000 kg of battery-grade MHP

Go-to-Market

Signed a non-binding offtake LOI with a Korean customer, estimated at US$16.5–21M
Product evaluated by potential customers in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the US
Signed a long-term, non-binding ore-supply MoU in Indonesia

Our team