• Altamin awarded A$3.62 million grant for innovative BRAIN project in Italy
• Project aims to demonstrate commercial-grade production of SOP, lithium and boron from geothermal brines
• Environmental impact assessment and lifecycle analysis to be conducted to align with EU sustainability goals

Altamin Limited (AZI: ASX) has announced its participation in a successful research project submission made under the Mission Innovation 2.0 call issued by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) in partnership with RINA SpA and the University of L'Aquila (UNIVAQ). The project, titled 'Geothermal Brines for Innovative Supply of Critical Raw Material (BRAIN)', has been approved for EUR 2.825 million (A$5.045 million) in eligible expenditure, of which a total of EUR 2.027 million (A$3.620 million) is refundable to the research project partners, including Altamin. The funding will be used to test the scale-up of an innovative process to demonstrate the possibility of obtaining commercial-grade Sulphate of Potash (SOP), lithium and boron combined production using a unique geothermal energy-powered process pathway. Additionally, the project will include a full Environmental Impact Assessment and a lifecycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental impacts and align the Lazio project with the EU's 'Do No Significant Harm' (DNSH) principles and Italian environmental laws, enhancing the project's sustainability credentials.

The BRAIN project aims to have a lasting impact on Italy's critical raw materials and strategic materials supply chains by fostering innovation in brine extraction technologies to offer higher recovery efficiencies, lower environmental impact, and scalability over conventional methods. If successful, the project could increase European self-sufficiency in critical raw materials and improve the overall sustainability of raw material extraction.