Profiles
First Tellurium welcomes Fenix Advanced Materials CEO to its advisory board

VANCOUVER — First Tellurium Corp. reports that Don Freschi, an executive with ultra-high purity metals and a semiconductor development background, has joined the company’s advisory board. Don is the founder of Fenix Advanced Materials Inc., a company involved in ultra-high purity metals including tellurium.

Don has also co-founded a semiconductor company, Firebird Semiconductors, running it until 2009. In 2009 he exited from a sale to 5N Plus Inc., a Montreal based developer and producer of high-purity metals.

In 2015, Don with his previous business partner, founded Fenix Advanced Materials, a clean technology company specializing in the manufacture of ultra-high purity (UHP) metals.

Don has reportedly always had an attraction to tellurium and its high conductive properties and has applied the element in the production of solar panels and semiconductors. Over the past several years he has turned his attention to tellurium battery technology and formed a collaboration with the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus.

The collaboration recently announced on a Global News broadcast that they could be in commercial production within the year. The technology using tellurium could see a battery that lasts up to 4 times longer and purportedly holds more power than conventional lithium-ion batteries.

“The past 30 plus years my life has been securing, purifying and utilizing strategic minor metals, like tellurium, and other critical elements,” explained Don Freschi. “To be successful in any entrepreneurial venture you need to secure the beginning, the middle and the end. I have always had a professional relationship with First Tellurium, I am excited to now formalize the relationship in what I see as a win-win for all involved. The majority of tellurium is sourced overseas and its supply is potentially volatile. It’s crucial to many North American manufacturers and suppliers including myself to secure local sources. I see First Tellurium as one of those sources, as they have been able to secure some of the highest-grade properties in North America. Together we will complete the supply chain from the ground to purification and implementation as we meet the local demand for the highest purity of tellurium available.”