Destiny Copper Punching Above its Weight in the Copper Waste Recovery Space
Recovering copper from industrial waste typically requires energy-intensive methods—but Destiny Copper is changing the game. Greg Hanna, Founder and CEO of Destiny Copper, shares how his team developed the world’s first zero-energy copper recovery process. By transforming hazardous waste into high-purity copper powders, the company is not only reducing emissions and supporting Canada’s clean tech goals, but also unlocking new applications in EVs, additive manufacturing, and even space exploration.
The Problem: Traditional Copper Recovery is Energy-Intensive and Wasteful
As the world rapidly electrifies—driven by the transition to electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and next-generation electronics—copper demand is surging. However, conventional copper production methods such as electrowinning and smelting are notoriously energy-intensive, carbon-heavy, and often reliant on increasingly scarce high-grade ores. Simultaneously, massive volumes of copper-bearing waste from industrial and mining operations remain untapped, representing both an environmental liability and a missed opportunity.
Recovering copper from these secondary sources efficiently and cleanly has long been a challenge—until now.
A Chemistry-Based Breakthrough: Cementation Reimagined
Destiny Copper has developed and patented the world’s first zero-energy process that recovers high-purity copper and copper powders from hazardous waste streams. The process—based on a re-engineered form of the ancient cementation method—uses ferrous scrap as a reducing agent to selectively extract copper from acidic solutions, without requiring electrowinning or smelting.
While cementation itself is not new, previous versions were plagued by technical drawbacks, including low selectivity, excessive iron contamination, and inconsistent particle formation—making them unsuitable for advanced manufacturing applications. Destiny Copper’s innovation addresses these limitations through a carefully tuned, chemistry-based approach that enables the production of copper powders with purities exceeding 99%.
Best Practices in Action: From Pilot to Production
Destiny Copper’s journey from concept to commercialization highlights key learnings for innovators tackling climate and resource challenges:
- Start with a clear problem – In this case, a dual challenge: meeting global copper demand sustainably while mitigating the environmental risks posed by waste streams.
- Validate in the lab, but prepare for scale – Years of lab work, in collaboration with Brock University and renowned chemist Dr. Ian Brindle, led to patentable breakthroughs. But scaling required new partnerships, funding, and facilities.
- Expect iteration and setbacks – The early stages were not without challenges, from process optimization to regulatory navigation. Destiny Copper’s iterative R&D approach was essential to overcoming these hurdles.
Looking back over the years of innovation and development Founder, Greg Hanna, comments on one of his proudest moments. He says, “that’s not an easy one, as we just try to keep our heads down and continue innovating day in and day out, eventually you look back and feel that you truly have achieved something meaningful. One project that does stand out was the awarding of almost $1,000,000 in grant funding from the Canadian Space Agency for Destiny Copper to develop the use of its copper powder as an additive in rocket fuel…”
” … We never thought that when we started working in an old papermill we would one day be developing materials and additives for sustainable space travel!”
Greg Hanna
Policy Relevance: Clean Tech That Aligns with Federal and Provincial Priorities
Canada’s federal government has recognized the importance of clean, circular approaches to critical materials. In March 2025, FedDev Ontario announced $2.5 million in funding to support Destiny Copper’s pilot facility. Shortly after, the BMI Group matched that with an additional $3 million investment.
This support underscores the alignment between Destiny Copper’s work and broader public goals: reducing carbon emissions, building domestic capacity for critical minerals, and supporting industrial decarbonization.
Product Impact: Advanced Materials from Waste
Destiny Copper’s process doesn’t just extract copper—it transforms it into high-value, application-ready materials. The company manufactures copper powders with customizable morphologies, suitable for:
- Additive manufacturing: Spheroidized powders for 3D printing conductive components.
- EV battery cooling: Dendritic powders that improve heat transfer efficiency.
- Specialty chemicals: Cupric and cuprous oxides, and copper carbonates, used in coatings, pigments, ceramics, agriculture, and electronics.
One highlight: in collaboration with Mohawk College, Destiny Copper produced the world’s first additively manufactured copper heat sink using recovered copper from Chilean mining waste.
Future Outlook: Copper for Space—and Beyond
The applications continue to expand. Destiny Copper recently received nearly $1 million in grant funding from the Canadian Space Agency to explore the use of copper powders as additives in rocket fuel. It’s a far cry from the company’s humble beginnings in an old paper mill—but it reflects how clean tech innovations, when rooted in solid science, can unlock unexpected new frontiers.
