II-VI Incorporated Ships Scandium Ion Recovery Technology Modular Pilot Plant Under European Union Funded Horizon 2020 Initiative

PITTSBURGH, May 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- II‐VI Incorporated (Nasdaq:IIVI), a leader in engineered materials, today announced that it shipped the first scandium recovery modular pilot plant to be installed in Greece under a program of the Scandium Aluminum Europe alliance, or SCALE, a European Union funded Horizon 2020 initiative to develop efficient exploitation of scandium-containing resources.

Scandium is a rare-earth element increasingly demanded for applications that reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, and strengthen energy security. II-VI’s patent-pending selective ion recovery (SIR) process enables the transformation of industrial waste streams into economical sources of scandium at 50% of the cost of conventional extractive metallurgy techniques and provides environmental benefits.

“This shipment is a very important milestone on the path to large-scale commercialization of our SIR process,” said Leigh Dahl, General Manager, II-VI Performance Metals Division. “With each milestone, we are strengthening our partnerships in multiple industries striving to serve the growing demand for scandium in aerospace applications for lightweight high-strength structures, additive manufacturing, and green energy.”

Scandium enables ultrahigh-strength and lightweight parts produced by additive manufacturing that improve fuel efficiency in transportation vehicles. Scandium is also consumed in low-emission solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) that operate off the electric grid.

II-VI has successfully demonstrated its SIR process in aluminum and titanium waste streams. II-VI’s SIR process is available for licensing.

About II-VI Incorporated

II-VI Incorporated, a global leader in engineered materials and optoelectronic components, is a vertically integrated manufacturing company that develops innovative products for diversified applications in the industrial, optical communications, military, life sciences, semiconductor equipment, and consumer markets. Headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, the Company has research and development, manufacturing, sales, service, and distribution facilities worldwide. The Company produces a wide variety of application-specific photonic and electronic materials and components, and deploys them in various forms, including integrated with advanced software to support our customers. For more information, please visit us at .