Seloxium: A new University of Oxford spinout company focussed on revolutionizing the mining, refining, and recycling industry

Seloxium, a new spinout company from the Engineering Science Department, has just successfully completed its seed funding round led by Oxford Science Enterprises in co-operation with Oxford University Innovation, the University’s technology transfer office.

Seloxium is developing its multi-patented ‘selective flocculation’ technology, called Selectal^TM, to change the way valuable metallic resources are mined, refined, recycled, and processed, to offer a more sustainable and environmentally friendly source of metals.

Valuable and strategically important metals (e.g., gold, platinum, rare-earth metals) are often found among the harmful contaminants contained in wastewaters, but are difficult and costly to remove using conventional approaches. Such metals are generally not recovered and recycled effectively but instead discharged and lost.

Seloxium’s Selectal^TM platform technology offers an alternative, selectively flocculating and recovering an extensive array of metallic resources from process or waste streams, which are often extremely difficult to otherwise treat.

Through the application of Selectal^TM, Seloxium aims to help mining, refining and industrial companies to achieve their ESG goals by (1) turning their wastewater into a highly profitable and sustainable source of valuable metal resources; and by (2) improving the purity and hence the value of highly concentrated metal processing or mining streams. Mining valuable metals from wastewater using Selectal^TM not only combats freshwater contamination but also turns effluent treatment plants into ‘resource factories.’

Seloxium’s academic founder and the co-inventor of Selectal^TM is Associate Professor of Engineering Science and chemical engineer, Nick Hankins. Dr Steve Colley and Dr Steve van Zutphen are co-founders who together bring decades of experience in the metals and water industry and a wide customer network.

Dr Christian Peters, a co-founder, and Seloxium’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “I am very excited that Seloxium is helping change the way we reclaim, process and recycle critically important metals in a more efficient and environmentally responsible way. We are continuously looking for people who are inspired by the sustainable and circular economy agenda and are interested in joining us to build Seloxium into a green and profitable company.”

For more information about Seloxium, please visit our website: www.seloxium.com