LightPath Technologies Partners with Universities to Revolutionize Infrared Glass Recycling

ORLANDO, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 6, 2024 / LightPath Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTH) ("LightPath," the "Company," or "we"), a leading vertically integrated global manufacturer and integrator of proprietary optical and infrared technologies, announced research in partnership with the University of Central Florida ("UCF") and Ursinus College. This research, initially funded by the Company, has now been funded by the US Department of Defense ("DoD") via the American Center for Optics Manufacturing ("Americom").

Ursinus and UCF recently received a $1.2 million grant from Americom to further research a revolutionary process for recycling chalcogenide glasses such as BlackDiamond ("BD") glass produced by LightPath. The study builds on an initial proof of concept funded and executed by LightPath, UCF, and Ursinus College in 2022.

The recycling of scrap and leftover material is a key element in the economics of critical minerals and materials. A stable supply chain and process for recycling Germanium, for example, has existed for years and plays a major role in the economics of the material. Developing a similar process for BlackDiamond materials, as we are doing with our research, is an important step in establishing a robust and scalable supply chain in the US, with far-reaching implications for the market.

In recent months, the importance of BlackDiamond materials as alternatives to the use of Germanium has grown significantly due to the restrictions on exports of Germanium out of China. Germanium is a mineral primarily sourced from Russia and China that has historically been the preferred crystalline glass used in thermal imaging. Last July, the Chinese government began requiring export licenses for Germanium going to the US and Europe, and shipments of Germanium went from 5 tons per month to approximately 700 kilos per month in one year. LightPath management estimates that the wholesale price of Geranium has increased 50-100% in the last six months due to known supply constraints and represents a market worth $600 million annually. LightPath's BD glasses substitute germanium in many infrared imaging devices. In addition to the existing materials, LightPath has begun commercializing new, cutting-edge materials from NRL, which provide significant performance advantages vs Germanium. The lack of a recycling process has inflated the lifetime cost of BD glasses relative to Germanium and provided a hurdle to adoption by many OEMs.