Lithium News

Wollongong-based Sicona Battery Technologies, which is developing a silicon composite material that improves the performance of batteries used for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy grids, announced it is moving forward with the development of a production plant in the southeast of the United States to take advantage of the booming battery and EV market.

It is anticipated the U.S. plant, the exact location of which is yet to be revealed, will initially be capable of producing about 6,700 tonnes per annum (tpa) of silicon-carbon anode material, before scaling up to a total output of 26,500 tpa by the early 2030s.

“Sicona’s vision is to be the largest silicon-carbon battery materials producer in the world and today’s announcement is the first major step towards the realisation of that goal,” Sicona co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Minnet said.

“We believe by going mass scale with our technology we can have maximum impact on increasing the adoption of electric vehicles. This is because our product has a real impact on the charge time of an electric vehicle or how far you can drive your EV before recharging, which are two major factors holding people back from buying an EV.”

Sicona, which has its headquarters and a pilot plant in Wollongong on the New South Wales coast, said its current generation silicon-graphite composite anode materials “supercharge” lithium-ion batteries, delivering a 20%-plus increase in energy density over conventional graphite-only battery cells and reducing charge times by more than 40%.

The Australian company said establishing a commercial-scale advanced manufacturing plant in the U.S. will enable it to serve customers in that market with Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) compliant materials supply. It is anticipated demand for anode materials in the U.S market will exceed 1,200 GWh by 2030.

Sicona said it has already started supplying product samples and begun offtake discussions with potential customers in the U.S. with qualification activities expected to ramp up significantly in the coming 18 months.

The exact location of the planned new manufacturing facility has not yet been revealed but Sicona said it will be sited in the nation’s southeast “near the geographic heart of the growing U.S. battery and EV manufacturing hub.”

The company said engineering and construction firm Bechtel has completed a front-end engineering design study and it will now push ahead with the phased development of the production plant.

Sicona’s announcement comes on the same day that the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) called for feedback on the design of the federal government’s $1 billion Solar Sunshot domestic manufacturing program.

The IRA-style initiative will see the government funding production subsidies and grants to boost the development of Australia’s solar manufacturing industry and increase the nation’s role in the global solar manufacturing supply chain.

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a high-power hybrid sodium-ion battery that can be charged in seconds.

Sodium is considered nearly 1000 times more abundant than lithium. Therefore, sodium-ion electrochemical energy storage devices are more appealing than traditional lithium-ion electrochemical energy storage.

Led by Professor Jeung Ku Kang from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the research team integrated anode materials typically used in batteries with cathodes suitable for supercapacitors.

Redwood Materials achieved notable progress in its efforts to create a closed-loop battery materials supply chain at its Nevada campus. Over the past year, Redwood ramped its hydrometallurgical operations, commissioned a large-scale recycling rotary calciner, and began production of battery anode copper foil.

These advancements mark a major step forward in Redwood’s goal of establishing a sustainable source of battery materials for the domestic electric vehicle industry. The company’s hydrometallurgical facility, which is also the first commercial-scale nickel “mine” to open in the US in years, not only recycles battery scrap but also represents the only new source of domestic lithium supply in recent decades.

Redwood’s approach prioritizes environmental responsibility. The company’s hydrometallurgical process boasts a 95% lithium recovery rate from scrap batteries. Recovered materials are then purified for use in cathode active materials, minimizing environmental impact and strengthening the US’ domestic supply chains.

Redwood’s innovative reductive calciner, on the other hand, processes various battery feedstocks, including live battery cells, consumer electronics, and electric vehicle modules. To date, Redwood’s reductive calciner is capable of processing more than 40,000 metric tons (about 15-20 GWh) of materials every year.

As noted by Redwood in a post on its official website, it invited a multidisciplinary team from Stanford University quantify the environmental footprint of our flowsheet. The study compared Redwood’s lithium-ion battery recycling processes to other recycling technologies. Stanford’s findings were notable.

Redwood’s closed-loop system showed a substantial reduction in the impact associated with extraction and transport, a key concern with conventional mining. “In conventional mining cycles, extraction and transport typically account for over 30% of the environmental footprint of mined cathode materials. Our recycling process significantly reduces this impact to less than 5%, demonstrating the efficiency of our circular supply chain.”

Redwood’s processes were also found to be energy and resource-efficient. “Compared to traditional methods of processing mined ore into battery-grade materials, our approach is significantly more sustainable. We use 80% less energy, generate 70% less CO2 emissions, and require 80% less water, setting new standards in resource efficiency,” Redwood wrote in its post.

Redwood Materials achieved notable progress in its efforts to create a closed-loop battery materials supply chain at its Nevada campus. Over the past year, Redwood ramped its hydrometallurgical operations, commissioned a large-scale recycling rotary calciner, and began production of battery anode copper foil.

These advancements mark a major step forward in Redwood’s goal of establishing a sustainable source of battery materials for the domestic electric vehicle industry. The company’s hydrometallurgical facility, which is also the first commercial-scale nickel “mine” to open in the US in years, not only recycles battery scrap but also represents the only new source of domestic lithium supply in recent decades.

Redwood’s approach prioritizes environmental responsibility. The company’s hydrometallurgical process boasts a 95% lithium recovery rate from scrap batteries. Recovered materials are then purified for use in cathode active materials, minimizing environmental impact and strengthening the US’ domestic supply chains.

Redwood’s innovative reductive calciner, on the other hand, processes various battery feedstocks, including live battery cells, consumer electronics, and electric vehicle modules. To date, Redwood’s reductive calciner is capable of processing more than 40,000 metric tons (about 15-20 GWh) of materials every year.

As noted by Redwood in a post on its official website, it invited a multidisciplinary team from Stanford University quantify the environmental footprint of our flowsheet. The study compared Redwood’s lithium-ion battery recycling processes to other recycling technologies. Stanford’s findings were notable.

Redwood’s closed-loop system showed a substantial reduction in the impact associated with extraction and transport, a key concern with conventional mining. “In conventional mining cycles, extraction and transport typically account for over 30% of the environmental footprint of mined cathode materials. Our recycling process significantly reduces this impact to less than 5%, demonstrating the efficiency of our circular supply chain.”

Redwood’s processes were also found to be energy and resource-efficient. “Compared to traditional methods of processing mined ore into battery-grade materials, our approach is significantly more sustainable. We use 80% less energy, generate 70% less CO2 emissions, and require 80% less water, setting new standards in resource efficiency,” Redwood wrote in its post.

Tohoku University researchers have made a groundbreaking advancement in battery technology, developing a novel cathode material for rechargeable magnesium batteries that enables efficient charging and discharging even at low temperatures.

Details of the findings were published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
This innovative material, leveraging an enhanced rock-salt structure, promises to usher in a new era of battery energy storage solutions that are more affordable, safer, and higher in capacity.

The study showcases a considerable improvement in magnesium (Mg) diffusion within a rock-salt structure, a critical advancement since the denseness of atoms in this configuration had previously impeded Mg migration.

By introducing a strategic mixture of seven different metallic elements, the research team created a crystal structure abundant in stable cation vacancies, facilitating easier Mg insertion and extraction.

This represents the first utilization of rocksalt oxide as a cathode material for RMBs.

The high-entropy strategy employed by the researchers allowed the cation defects to activate the rocksalt oxide cathode.

The development also addresses a key limitation of RMBs – the difficulty of Mg transport within solid materials.

Until now, high temperatures were necessary to enhance Mg mobility in conventional cathode materials, such as those with a spinel structure.

However, the material unveiled by Tohoku University researchers operates efficiently at just 90°C, demonstrating a significant reduction in the required operating temperature.

Tomoya Kawaguchi, a professor at Tohoku University’s Institute for Materials Research (IMR), notes the broader implications of the study.

The professor said, “Lithium is scarce and unevenly distributed, whereas magnesium is abundantly available, offering a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative for lithium-ion batteries. Magnesium batteries, featuring the newly developed cathode material, are poised to play a pivotal role in various applications, including grid storage, electric vehicles, and portable electronic devices, contributing to the global shift towards renewable energy and reduced carbon footprints.”

Kawaguchi collaborated with Tetsu Ichitsubo, also a professor at IMR, who states, “By harnessing the intrinsic benefits of magnesium and overcoming previous material limitations, this research paves the way for the next generation of batteries, promising significant impacts on technology, the environment, and society.”

Ultimately, the breakthrough is a major step forward in the quest for efficient, eco-friendly energy storage solutions.