PR1 adds 3-star ex-US Navy Admiral to advisory board - US funding engagement progressing

Our US defence materials Investment Pure Resources (ASX: PR1) just appointed a retired three-star US Navy Vice Admiral to its Advisory Board.

PR1 added Vice Admiral Jeff Trussler, USN (retired) to its team.

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Trussler’s most recent role was Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare and Director of Naval Intelligence (2020-2023).

So he has operated at the most senior levels of the US military and intelligence.

His major commands include the ballistic-missile submarine USS Maryland and the Undersea Warfighting Development Center.

Since 2023 he has advised across defence and advanced technology, and is currently President of the Naval Submarine League.

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Why does all of this matter for PR1?

PR1 is developing a carbon nanotube fibre (CNTF) thermal management technology program.

The tech is being developed through a funded R&D collaboration with Rice University in Houston.

PR1’s main aim is to apply the material to heat management for AI data centres and defence systems.

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AI data centres are running hotter and denser than ever so getting heat out of the chips is becoming one of the industry's biggest bottlenecks.

Today, heat is mostly managed with copper and aluminium heatsinks, basically like those that are in PC’s and laptops:

PR1's pitch is that CNTF can move heat more efficiently than those metals with a lighter, stronger and more conductive solution.

The CNTF material is more conductive than its copper and aluminum counterparts, so there is scope to make a step change improvement here, which PR1 highlighted last month:

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Here is what CNTF’s look like - check out our deep dive on the material here: OK, so what exactly is carbon nanotube fibre?

CNTF’s are a carbon nanomaterial made of extremely aligned and densely packed carbon nanotubes, processed into continuous fibres and thin films:

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IF CNTF lives up to that, it slots straight into one of the fastest-growing infrastructure spends in the world.

We think today’s appointment brings into PR1 active relationships across the US Submarine Industrial Base, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the US Intelligence Community.

Those are exactly the doors that would be beneficial for PR1 to open as it chases US Government funding (including via the DARPA pathway) and works to qualify its materials into US Navy and Department of Defense supply chains.

PR1's three workstreams

PR1 is running an integrated "mine-to-market" strategy across three fronts:

• Rice University CNTF - the funded thermal-management R&D that drew us in.
• Garnet Hills (WA) - 100%-owned graphite and garnet, with a NAVSEA garnet-abrasive qualification pathway.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory - a US DoE strategic partnership targeting heavy rare earths and yttrium.

What we want to see next from PR1

🔄 US government funding outcomes

PR1 has commenced applications to DoE and DoD funding programs. We want to see at least one of these land - it would validate the program and provide additional capital:

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🔄 End user collaboration progress

Multiple organisations are already engaging. We want to see this progress toward joint development agreements or testing partnerships with named parties.

🔄 Workstream milestones

With 8 workstreams now defined, we want to see PR1 start ticking off deliverables - starting with feedstock qualification and fibre synthesis.

PR1’s recent announcement confirmed that feedstock has been collected for characterisation, the very first step of Step 1.

Just prior to that PR1 confirmed the 8 step program to get this underway:

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