Nanollose Advances Onshore Pilot Facility with $1.58m Funding Boost

Onshoring Development to Accelerate Pilot Facility Design

Nanollose Limited (ASX:NC6) is shifting its development and testing capabilities onshore to Western Australia, aiming to tighten control over its microbial cellulose process and speed up iteration cycles. The company has already installed some analytic equipment and ordered further key lab apparatus expected to arrive this quarter. This move is designed to support process optimisation and the design of Nanollose’s first dedicated pilot-scale facility for microbial cellulose pulp production.

CEO Andrew Moullin emphasised that bringing core analytics locally will reduce reliance on external validation and enable more capital-efficient scale-up. The company is also actively scouting for larger premises in WA to house the expanded team, incoming equipment, and the pilot facility itself, potentially unlocking access to Australian R&D grants linked to local innovation.

Engineering Strengthened with Key Appointment and Consultancy

To bolster its technical capabilities, Nanollose appointed Danielle Nardini as Operations and Engineering Manager. Nardini brings over 16 years of experience, including scaling emerging technologies to commercial readiness in mining and sustainability sectors. Her expertise aligns directly with Nanollose’s pilot plant build-out and its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) positioning.

Complementing this, Nanollose engaged Switch Technologies, a WA-based engineering consultancy specialising in integrating modern industrial methods. This partnership supports the company’s process engineering and equipment integration as it advances its onshore development pathway. Discussions are underway with additional global chemical and process engineering consultants to further strengthen scale-up experience.

Technical Progress Demonstrates Efficiency Gains and Scale-Up Potential

The company reported an 80% efficiency uplift in its improved laboratory process compared to the method used in its fourth pilot spin, alongside producing a more uniform product, a critical factor for customer engagement. Successful local trials have identified a viable pathway for industrial dewatering of microbial cellulose, with vendor testing indicating the technology can handle this stage pending further validation on throughput.

Additionally, a European equipment supplier trial confirmed high confidence that washing processes tested at lab scale will scale to pilot and industrial equipment. Nanollose is now preparing for larger volume trials to finalise equipment specifications and operating parameters for its pilot facility. Parallel efforts continue on the dissolution stage, with material sent to India for technical validation by a local partner, marking another important step in process development.

Market Interest and Financial Position

Highlighting genuine market interest, Nanollose received a request from a high-profile international brand for a 50kg sample of a specialised fibre grade outside its core commercial pathway. While technically challenging, fulfilling this order would represent a significant technical achievement and further validate the technology’s potential.

Financially, the company strengthened its balance sheet by raising $1.58 million through the conversion of unlisted options, exercisable at $0.025 and $0.05. This capital injection follows previous strategic raises and provides the financial flexibility to progress the pilot facility development. At quarter-end, Nanollose held $1.35 million in cash, with operating cash outflows of $647,000 driven by R&D, staff, and corporate costs.