ItisScientific has pursued a long-term research direction investigating ethanol in experimental rocket-fuel concepts, alongside proposed in-house boron materials chemistry, including boron tribromide (BBr3) as a research intermediate.
Research programme • laboratory concepts under evaluationItisScientific's emerging three-component propulsion research proposal connects imidazolium-based ionic liquids, ethanol and elemental boron. The direction builds on imidazolium and ethanol concepts described in the company's 2023 and 2024 council correspondence, alongside its subsequent interest in elemental boron and boron-containing research materials.
Research stage: This is an unvalidated conceptual combination, not a proven rocket fuel. No compatible formulation, operational method, experimental propulsion result or performance advantage is claimed. The separate BBr3 programme relates to potential boron materials research and should not be confused with using elemental boron as a proposed component.
The research direction explores whether ethanol produced through sustainable processes can contribute to novel experimental propulsion-related fuels. The company has maintained a documented Australian excise-manufacturing history and raised its proposed ethanol use in propulsion research with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Written ATO confirmation — 11 February 2021. In response to a proposal explicitly discussing the use of a proportion of manufactured ethanol in rocket-fuel research, an ATO licensing officer confirmed the existing excise licence was appropriate for that proposed research. The correspondence also specified reporting obligations, the licensed annual production limit and applicable duty/denaturing requirements. This concerns excise licensing; it is not a blanket approval to manufacture or test propellants.
More background is available on the ethanol licence and compliance page.
The founder's first-author peer-reviewed review, Mechanism of Action of Potent Boron-Containing Antifungals (Current Bioactive Compounds, 2020), documents earlier scientific engagement with boron chemistry and biological activity. It is not evidence of BBr3 manufacture or propulsion performance. See the publications and current research record.
A central planned direction is research into the preparation and characterisation of boron-containing materials using company laboratory infrastructure, subject to specialist engineering, chemical safety assessment and appropriate authorisations.
ItisScientific has explored the chemistry and sourcing of boron oxide and related materials in connection with a proposed BBr3-mediated pathway toward boron research. The process has not been presented as a commissioned or validated production line.
Any research programme involving corrosive halogen compounds, hydrogen, toxic gases or fuel materials requires documented risk assessment, controls and compliance before implementation.
Feasibility will be assessed through original experiments, independently interpretable measurements, materials characterisation and clear separation of established reaction chemistry from demonstrated project results.
Development status: The website documents research intentions and correspondence. It does not claim ItisScientific has already manufactured elemental boron or BBr3 at commercial scale, or validated an integrated propulsion formulation.
ItisScientific has communicated with Southern Mallee District Council about bioethanol, alternative fuels and proposed rocket-propulsion research at its Pinnaroo site. The documented exchanges include these milestones:
The then Chief Executive Officer, Jason Taylor, offered a meeting with himself and the council's Manager Property and Development Services to discuss the proposed work.
The company submitted project materials. The Chief Executive Officer confirmed they would be retained confidentially and invited further progress updates.
ItisScientific submitted an update about its propulsion and research interests at the Pinnaroo premises.
A subsequent update referred to an earlier council approval for the bioethanol initiative and outlined plans to revisit ethanol production. The original formal approval document has not been reproduced here.
These council communications show sustained engagement and an invitation to discuss the research. They should not be mistaken for site-specific permission to manufacture, mix or test rocket propellants. The company's original technical proposal and private correspondence are not published.
In addition to the ATO correspondence, ItisScientific sought guidance from SafeWork SA's Chemical Hazards and Explosive Materials team in September 2021. The regulator raised questions about the proposed activities and whether particular explosives licences could be required. Each proposed facility, experiment, material and end use is subject to its own applicable obligations.
The programme's long-term ambition is to contribute rigorous, locally conducted research to energy, materials and aerospace-related technologies. Product claims, commercial readiness and safety approvals will be reported only when verified.