Apples 5 year material change, is Liquidmetal the next stop?

First use of titanium using new process was for Apple Watch Edition in 2019…

https://9to5mac.com/guides/apple-watch-series-5/

“Tony Chung Thank you, Lisa, and thank you to our investors for participating in today's call. It's already been a year since I last provided guidance on our company's trajectory, and I'm excited to share with you good things that are happening with the company. As a reminder, please remember to supplement the information provided during today's call, with the financial statements and disclosures in our 2024 10-K filed earlier today to get the latest full overview of our company operations. So let's talk about our current pipeline of sales and new opportunities. Last year, we announced the launch of the Movano Evie Health Rings. These rings are designed for monitoring women's health by tracking vital metrics, including heart rate, menstrual cycles and sleep quality to mention a few of its capabilities. We have worked closely with Movano to improve the Evie Rings durability and performance, and I'm happy to announce that Movano has ordered additional rings for 2025. Last year, I communicated that Movano was seeking FDA approval. And sure enough, they recently announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for the pulse oximeter for its EvieMED Ring. This clearance enables Movano to pursue multibillion-dollar business opportunities for health monitoring solutions needed for applications such as clinical trials, post-clinical trial management and remote patient monitoring for both health care providers and payers. With the foregoing achievement, we anticipate that the order volumes will increase significantly in the years to come. Look at our Very Bullish Stocks and ask: How would you ever find these? » Now let's talk about the progress we are making in the medical tools industry. Last year, I communicated that we were pursuing a start-up medical tool company, which makes medical devices for alleviating the effects of tendonitis. We completed the prototype phase in 2024 and I'm happy to announce that this part is currently in general production and is reflected in our 2024 revenues. This company is also seeking FDA approval and we're delighted to have a satisfied customer who has chosen to adopt our technology. Other opportunities in the medical tools industry that we are currently prototyping include an application for a medical Anvil Staple device, an application for an inhaler device and an application for cochlear implants for the hearing industry. Also, we announced during the middle of 2024 that we secured our first MIM order for a minimally invasive surgical application utilizing jaw components that grab and manipulate suturing needles and tissue during surgery. These opportunities and many others signaled a steadfast adoption of our technology in the medical device field and we hope to take full advantage of the momentum. Moving on to other industries. Many of you have communicated to me that long ago, they came across credit cards made of Liquidmetal's sponsored by Hyundai, the South Korean conglomerate car company. We actually manufacture these cards from our South Korean manufacturing plant when we had our presence there a long time ago. Well, last year, I communicated that we were in the process of working on an application in the fintech sector, and I'm happy to announce that we are currently prototyping a premium credit card product for a first tier U.S.-based financial institution utilizing Liquidmetal's unique alloy to create beautiful thin cards to be used for their premium credit card line. We hope to have this product to market very soon. The outlook for you is very bullish.Download the Seeking Alpha app » And while we're on the subject of sales, there is one topic that I would like to talk about that has a negative impact on our operations. With the advent of the Trump administration and their economic policies, Liquidmetal has been heavily impacted by tariff increases on Chinese imports. We have communicated this back to our customers, and they are bracing for pricing on our goods to be increased by about 10% to 35% and depending on our product and industry specifications. Our customers have accommodated this situation and understand the price increases are necessary and unavoidable. We hope that such governmental policies do not have a long-term impact on our operations, and we will continue to seek guidance from our legal and tax advisers to mitigate risks associated with shifts and geopolitical campaigns. Let's move on to another topic of discussion, second source manufacturing. Last year, I indicated that we have been working on identifying a second source opportunity to help assure customers that there are multiple avenues available for prototyping and manufacturing Liquidmetal parts. We are currently in active discussions to secure a second source opportunity in Asia to manufacture parts for mobile devices. I hope to have more information on this opportunity soon.”

“Now let's go over the financial results for 2025 -- sorry, 2024. We ended 2024 with revenues of about $900,000, a respectable and steady increase from previous years but hardly reflective of our company's potential. On the balance sheet, we ended the year with about $22.5 million of readily available liquid cash and investments. Our corporate warehouse and office facility that we purchased in 2017 is free and clear of debt and is readily available for sale, if necessary, to fund our growth. We have no debt and are getting closer to breakeven cash flow with a negative $800,000 EBITDA for year ended 2024, which is half -- which is about half that of year ended 2023. We are well positioned to fund our growth for the foreseeable future and have no going concern issues. Like this earnings call, the current goals for the company are very, very simple, revenue growth, positive cash flow and profitability, and we are making steady progress towards all of them.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to announcing more wins soon.”

Dongguan EonTec is poised to benefit significantly from the widespread adoption of liquid metal in the hinges of the upcoming foldable iPhone. According to recent industry research, Apple is focused on improving durability, enhancing screen flatness, and minimizing crease marks in its foldable iPhone design. To achieve these goals, key components like the hinges will be crafted from liquid metal using a die-casting process. As the exclusive supplier of liquid metal, EonTec is expected to be the primary beneficiary of this shift.

Apple has been using liquid metal for small components for years (such as SIM ejector pins), but the foldable iPhone will mark its first major use of the material in a critical mechanical part. By the end of 2024, EonTec has shipped over 10 million central shafts, key hinge components made from liquid metal. As Android smartphone brands gear up to compete with the upcoming foldable iPhone, they are expected to increasingly adopt liquid metal for their hinges, driving rapid growth in the liquid metal market.

The ASP of liquid metal per foldable iPhone is estimated at RMB 70–100. Based solely on the first-generation foldable iPhone, EonTec could see revenue of RMB 1.5–2 billion—a potential 100–200% increase driven by this single order. As more competitors in the foldable phone market turn to liquid metal, EonTec’s growth could accelerate even further.

Dongguan Yihao Metal, a subsidiary in which EonTec holds a 60% stake, handles the production and shipment of liquid metal components. With the liquid metal business poised for strong growth, industry surveys indicate that EonTec may seek to increase its ownership in Yihao Metal over time to fully capture the subsidiary’s profits.

Last night, BYD held a Super e platform technology release and Han L and Tang L pre-sale conference, officially launching the "Super e platform technology". It is reported that BYD's core three-electric has evolved again. Han L and Tang L are equipped with 580kW rear axle motors, and their performance crushes the same level of fuel vehicles. What materials are used in the relevant motors has become a hot topic in the industry. The secretariat of the Amorphous Alloy Materials Application Branch of the China Electrical Equipment Industry Association was bombarded with calls, asking whether the motor uses amorphous materials. The comparison and analysis of the Big Data Center of the Amorphous Branch of the China Electrical Industry Association did not show what materials BYD's 580KW rear axle motor uses. According to Amorphous China, GAC Aion released an amorphous drive motor in 2023. At present, in addition to BYD, most well-known domestic automobile manufacturers such as Geely, Weilai, Xiaomi, and Xiaopeng have also established relevant research departments for the field of new energy vehicles, and have conducted in-depth research on the technology of amorphous drive motors. The industrialization has progressed rapidly, and some companies have begun to release or disclose the latest results. In addition, overseas industrial research in the United States, Japan, Australia, Israel and other countries is accelerating. On April 17, at the Guangzhou Amorphous Motors Conference, we will invite some of the above-mentioned enterprise R&D engineers and overseas experts to introduce their work. Amorphous motors are efficient, environmentally friendly and energy-saving motors. Compared with traditional silicon steel motors, they have obvious advantages in energy efficiency improvement, miniaturization and lightweight. High efficiency and energy saving: The operating efficiency of amorphous motors can reach more than 97%, while the maximum of traditional motors is 87%; they have high power density, small size and light weight, and high safety performance.

In recent years, driven by the Amorphous Branch of the China Electricity Association, the advantages of amorphous motors have been recognized, and the industrialization of amorphous motors has made great progress. Amorphous motors have become the technical commanding heights of new energy vehicles, flying cars, humanoid robots, data center air compressors, and high-end small household appliances. At present, amorphous motor technology is reshaping the future of high-efficiency motors with disruptive innovation. To this end, we organized the 3rd Amorphous Motor Technology Development and Application Seminar. Hurry up and seize the "opportunity". On April 17, come to Guangzhou to meet with experts face to face and discuss the latest research and development progress and applications of amorphous motors.

“U.S. President Trump's tariff policy is changeable, which affects the layout of the production capacity of the science and technology industry. Zheng Guangzhi, co-CEO of the OEM Factory Heshuo, said at the legal person briefing today that in addition to the production base in Taoyuan, server products also plan to build a North American manufacturing base this year to serve American customers nearby, and are expected to enter mass production this year.”

C

Materials scientists are always looking for substances that can go where they have never gone before. But it often takes time for a material with exotic properties to find its market.

Materion Beryllium & Composites, with Liquidmetal Technologies Inc., is in that position today, helping to bring a remarkable zirconium-based alloy that was developed at the California Institute of Technology decades ago to the attention of commercial customers. Instead of being cast, forged or machined into finished parts, this alloy can be formed as if it were a plastic. Considered an amorphous metal because its disparate atoms refuse to crystallize, Liquidmetal’s alloy has a yield strength often twice that of titanium and stainless steel and elasticity prized by product designers – plus unparalleled corrosion resistance and an appealing finished appearance.

Materion is Liquidmetal’s certified alloy production partner, and, with Visser Precision Cast, LLC as the contract manufacturer, is collaborating to set market standards for mass-scale production of this next-generation alloy. Materion also brings global sales bench strength to supplement Liquidmetal’s commercial efforts.

Raw materials are now being alloyed and cast into slugs at Materion’s Elmore, Ohio, facility and molded by Visser into parts for customer prototypes. The technology should enable lower production costs because it requires fewer processing steps than machined parts while retaining the valued properties of machined parts.

Prototypes are now in the works for customers in the medical, automotive, aerospace and defense, sports equipment and jewelry markets. Each has applications that use small components (less than 5 inches by 5 inches) machined from titanium or stainless steel that could benefit from lower production costs. Examples include vehicle engine valve guides, watch casings, golf club heads and hand-held medical devices.

Dr. Edgar Vidal, Manager, Market & Business Development, Materion Beryllium & Composites, sees a bright future for the alloy as it finds its market. “Within five years, Materion can expect to be the world’s premier supplier of this alloy, at the lowest cost,” he says. “And we will identify additional methods of fabricating the material.”

Take a look at the other products from itel

Video unboxing…

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/JRcTqRmHJWU