Critical Resources Ltd
Critical Resources Locks In Exclusive Global Licence for NTU's Thermal Management Technology, Extending Its Battery and Data Centre Play
Critical Resources Limited (ASX: CRR) has executed a binding exclusive worldwide commercial licence with NTUitive Pte Ltd — the innovation and enterprise arm of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore — covering a portfolio of four technology disclosures, including one granted US patent. The Critical Resources NTU thermal management technology licence for battery and data centre cooling relates to two-phase cooling for lithium-ion batteries, GPUs, and CPUs within high-density electronics and data centre infrastructure, and represents a meaningful extension of the company's downstream battery development strategy.
The move follows CRR's 30 April 2026 announcement in which the company was nominated to hold the full commercial licence after exercising an option under an evaluation arrangement with NTU. The binding licence is now complete.
When big ASX news breaks, our subscribers know first
What Has Been Secured and Why It Matters
The licence gives Critical Resources exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialise NTU's two-phase spray cooling portfolio across a defined field of application: thermal management of lithium-ion batteries, CPUs, GPUs, and other heat-generating components in high-density electronics and data centre environments.
Key terms of the agreement include:
| Licence Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Licence type | Exclusive worldwide commercial licence |
| Technology disclosures covered | Four, including one granted US patent |
| Licence duration | Ten (10) years |
| Total consideration | SGD $220,000 (excl. patent cost recovery) |
| Royalties on product sales | None |
| First commercial sale milestone | Within three years of completing Research Collaboration Agreement(s) with NTU |
| Consequence if milestone not met | NTUitive may convert to non-exclusive licence, or parties may negotiate continued exclusivity |
The financial terms are deliberately structured to keep the early-stage programme capital-light. There are no royalty obligations on future product sales, and furthermore, the total ten-year licence cost of SGD $220,000 is modest relative to the scope of exclusivity being granted.
"This licence completes the option pathway flagged in our 30 April update. The NTU portfolio connects to our existing solid-state battery development work in the US, where heat is a primary determinant of battery cycle life and safety. Our development approach remains capital-light and milestone-gated, and we look forward to updating the market as we progress."
— Tim Wither, Managing Director, Critical Resources
Understanding the Technology: Two-Phase Spray Cooling Explained
For investors unfamiliar with cooling technology, understanding what NTU has developed — and why it is commercially significant — is important context.
What is two-phase spray cooling?
Conventional data centre and battery cooling systems either blow air across components or circulate liquid through pipes that never change state. Both approaches have physical limits on how much heat they can remove per unit of energy consumed.
Two-phase spray cooling works differently. A dielectric fluid — electrically non-conductive and commercially available — is sprayed directly onto heat-generating surfaces such as GPU chips, CPU processors, or battery cells. The fluid evaporates on contact (the "two-phase" transition from liquid to vapour), and in doing so removes heat far more efficiently than any system where the coolant remains liquid throughout.
The vapour is captured in a sealed enclosure, condensed back to liquid using near-ambient-temperature fluid (approximately 30°C), and recirculated in a closed loop — with no refrigeration plant or mechanical chiller required.
Why does this matter for investors?
Cooling is one of the largest operating cost items for data centres globally. The key performance metric in this context is Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) — the ratio of total facility energy consumed to the energy delivered directly to computing equipment. A PUE of 1.0 would mean perfect efficiency; real-world systems are always above 1.0.
| Cooling System | PUE | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional air-cooled systems | ~1.69 | 69% energy overhead just for cooling |
| NTU two-phase spray cooling (peer-reviewed) | 1.08 | Only 8% energy overhead for cooling |
The 25.8% reduction in total facility energy consumption and a 7°C reduction in chip-level temperature at full load reported in peer-reviewed publications (Applied Energy, 2022; Energy, 2023) illustrate why this technology class is attracting serious commercial attention.
For battery systems specifically, temperature directly affects ionic conductivity, interface stability, and long-term performance degradation — making reliable thermal management a prerequisite for any advanced battery architecture operating in elevated-temperature environments.
How This Connects to CRR's Broader Strategy
Critical Resources is not simply a mining company. The company describes itself as an Australian mining and technology company focused on critical metals and next-generation lithium-ion battery technologies. Its asset base and technology pipeline span several interconnected areas.
Existing portfolio:
- Mavis Lake Lithium Project — Ontario, Canada (lithium supply)
- Halls Peak Base Metals Project — New South Wales, Australia
- Gold portfolio — New Zealand
- Solid-state battery evaluation programme — ongoing in the United States
The Critical Resources NTU thermal management technology licence for battery and data centre cooling is designed to integrate with the solid-state battery evaluation programme currently underway in the US. CRR's battery programme is generating datasets on electrolyte conductivity, interface stability, and cathode/electrolyte construction. Consequently, as that programme moves toward prototype configurations, managing heat becomes an operational necessity rather than a theoretical consideration.
The company's stated "mine-to-market" downstream strategy positions the thermal management licence as a logical extension — connecting lithium supply at Mavis Lake through to potential downstream battery development, with the NTU technology providing an enabling capability for high-temperature operating environments.
The integrated thesis in summary:
- Lithium supply asset (Mavis Lake) anchors the upstream raw material position
- Solid-state battery evaluation programme drives the downstream battery development angle
- NTU thermal management licence adds a commercially relevant technology layer applicable to batteries, data centres, and high-density electronics
The Technology's Performance Credentials
The NTU portfolio is not theoretical. It is supported by peer-reviewed academic publications in two respected journals:
- Applied Energy (2022): Evaluated system performance of two-phase spray cooling for high ambient temperature data centres
- Energy (2023): Dynamic performance analysis and thermal modelling of a novel two-phase spray-cooled rack system
Validated performance outcomes from those studies:
| Performance Metric | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Total facility energy consumption reduction | 25.8% |
| PUE achieved | 1.08 |
| PUE of conventional air-cooled systems | ~1.69 |
| Chip-level temperature reduction at full load | 7°C |
| Operating coolant temperature | ~30°C (ambient, no refrigeration required) |
The portfolio also includes a physics-grounded thermal model of the two-phase spray-cooled system — a predictive model characterising dynamic thermal responses to varying ambient temperatures and load conditions. This forms the basis for Model Predictive Control (MPC), a real-time energy optimisation framework for cooling loads.
MPC is directly applicable to battery thermal management within an integrated system, giving CRR a technically rigorous foundation for the next phase of development.
Next Steps and Development Pathway
CRR's development approach is explicitly described as capital-light and milestone-gated. The next key step is finalisation of a Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA) with NTU, which remains under active discussion. The structured evaluation programme will commence once the RCA is in place.
Near-term milestones to watch:
- Finalisation of the Research Collaboration Agreement with NTU
- Commencement of structured technical evaluation of the thermal management portfolio
- Continued progression of the US-based solid-state battery evaluation programme
- Achievement of the first commercial sale milestone within three years of RCA completion (as required under the licence terms)
The evaluation programme is designed to be scalable — it may be expanded subject to successful completion of defined technical and commercial milestones, meaning capital deployment remains tied to demonstrated progress at each stage.
Glossary of Key Terms
Two-phase cooling: A heat removal process in which a coolant transitions between liquid and vapour states, enabling significantly higher heat transfer efficiency than single-phase (liquid-only) cooling.
Dielectric fluid: An electrically non-conductive liquid safe for direct contact with electronic components; used as the spray coolant in NTU's system.
PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness): A measure of data centre energy efficiency. A PUE of 1.0 is perfect efficiency; lower numbers indicate less energy wasted on infrastructure like cooling.
Model Predictive Control (MPC): A real-time control framework that uses a predictive model to optimise energy consumption and system performance dynamically, anticipating future conditions rather than reacting to them.
Solid-state battery: A battery architecture that uses a solid electrolyte instead of a liquid one, offering potential advantages in energy density and safety but requiring precise thermal management.
Ionic conductivity: The ability of ions to move through an electrolyte; directly affected by temperature and critical to battery performance and efficiency.
The next major ASX story will hit our subscribers first
Why Investors Should Follow Critical Resources
CRR is executing a clearly defined downstream diversification strategy that goes well beyond conventional junior mining. The completion of this worldwide exclusive licence — at a total ten-year cost of SGD $220,000 with no royalties on product sales — represents a low-cost entry into two high-growth sectors simultaneously: advanced battery technology and data centre cooling infrastructure.
The peer-reviewed performance data underpinning the NTU technology provides an unusual degree of technical credibility at this stage of development. In addition, the capital-light, milestone-gated structure protects the balance sheet while allowing the company to advance through staged technical validation.
With a lithium asset in Canada anchoring the upstream position, an active solid-state battery programme in the US, and now the Critical Resources NTU thermal management technology licence for battery and data centre cooling secured exclusively on a global basis, Critical Resources is building a connected value chain. This spans from raw material to potential commercial application in some of the fastest-growing infrastructure categories globally — battery energy storage and data centre cooling.
"Critical Resources has secured exclusive worldwide rights to peer-reviewed, validated cooling technology from one of Asia's leading universities — at a structurally low cost and with no royalty obligations. The integration of this thermal management capability with the company's existing solid-state battery programme and lithium supply asset creates a coherent, staged downstream strategy that investors in both battery technology and data centre infrastructure should be monitoring closely. With a Research Collaboration Agreement with NTU as the next near-term catalyst, the development pathway is active and defined."
Want to Know More About Critical Resources' Battery and Data Centre Technology Play?
Critical Resources (ASX: CRR) is executing a connected downstream strategy that spans lithium supply, solid-state battery development, and now an exclusive worldwide licence for peer-reviewed thermal management technology from one of Asia's leading universities — all structured to be capital-light with no royalty obligations. With the Research Collaboration Agreement with NTU as the next near-term catalyst, the development pathway is active and defined. To learn more about the company and its projects, visit the Critical Resources website.
