Albania took a decisive step towards industrial transformation on April 4, 2025, as the Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA)—backed by the visionary support of Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Edi Rama, Deputy Prime Minister, the Honourable Belinda Balluku, and the proactive leadership of Mr. Nuri Belba, Mayor of Prrenjas—awarded CVMR (Albania) the license to establish the nation’s first nickel refinery. Scheduled to break ground in May 2025, the refinery promises more than just economic stimulus; it signals Albania’s entry into a new era of advanced manufacturing characterized by environmental stewardship and cutting-edge technological innovation. “We are a generation that has observed revolutions in telecommunication, information dissemination technologies, robotics, and printing of various three-dimensional metal objects,” remarked Kamran M. Khozan, Chairman and CEO of CVMR Corporation. “The industries that use metals in their manufacturing processes will not be the same in the next ten years. They will be much more efficient, environmentally neutral, and allow customers to have their own unique ideas incorporated into the objects they buy. Graphite and graphene will take centre stage in the manufacture of the equipment we use. This is truly a radical shift in our understanding of structures, which have up to now remained static and rigid. Those manufacturers who do not pay attention to this revolution will not be here in ten years’ time.”
Situated on a strategic five-hectare site in Qafe Thana, the CVMR (Albania) refinery represents a milestone investment by CVMR Corporation, the Canadian-headquartered global leader in advanced metal refining technologies and high-value metal powder production. The refinery will directly employ more than 500 individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, significantly enhancing employment opportunities in the municipalities of Prrenjas and Pogradec. In parallel, CVMR Albania, in collaboration with local authorities, will establish specialized vocational schools aimed at cultivating the next generation of skilled mechanics, engineers, and technical specialists required by the facility.
Central to CVMR’s competitive edge is its groundbreaking proprietary technology—Chemical Vapour Metal Refining (“vapour metallurgy”). Distinguished by its environmentally-neutral characteristics, CVMR’s vapour metallurgy refines metals without melting, operating at near-atmospheric pressures and comparatively lower temperatures. The process, notable for eliminating air, water, and soil pollutants, also utilizes refinery tailings in the manufacturing of durable, high-quality bricks, underscoring the company’s zero-waste ethos.
Established in Toronto in 1986, CVMR Corporation holds a commanding patent portfolio of more than 60 patents reinforcing its proprietary technologies. The company’s global reputation stems from strategic partnerships and innovative research projects involving prominent entities like the Canadian Department of Defence, U.S. Departments of Treasury, Defence, and Energy, Russia’s Ministry for Atomic Energy, South Africa’s Minmetal, and China’s Jinchuan Group. Notably, CVMR’s subsidiary, CVD Manufacturing Inc., contributed critical components to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), a scientific landmark whose research contributed to a Nobel Prize in Physics.
Chairman Khozan emphasizes that CVMR’s proprietary processes surpass traditional methods employed by global competitors. “CVMR’s technologies are about 30 years ahead of the methods used by Norilsk or Vale,” Khozan noted, highlighting the company’s ability to efficiently refine both laterite and sulfide ores at lower operational costs, subsequently producing premium-grade industrial materials vital to sectors including automotive, aerospace, electronics, medical instruments, and pharmaceuticals.
Further amplifying CVMR’s commitment to sustainable innovation, the company recently pioneered a commercially successful method of converting captured industrial CO₂ emissions into graphene and graphite. Recognized with back-to-back awards in 2018 and 2019 from the Ontario Centres of Excellence, this breakthrough transforms a pollutant into a profitable and sustainable commodity.
With its strong international credentials—including a rare NATO supplier designation—CVMR’s Albanian refinery aligns seamlessly with the government’s ambition to cultivate the TEDA Prrenjas economic zone as a focal point for industrial innovation and economic revitalization. Albania’s partnership with CVMR thus positions the country at the forefront of the global transition toward setting a new standard for the global refining industry.
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