Battery Materials Commercialization Centre Hidden link on Nano website April 2022 then taken down
Is this the March 28 annoucnment?
BATTERY MATERIALS COMMERCIALIZATION CENTRE
English |
Franias The world is transitioning to an energy future that will, in-part, bring a new industry to North America and other parts of the world. The localization of battery production is a key driver for North America. There is significant opportunity to create the most sustainable battery supply chain ecosystem globally from raw materials to finished cathode active materials and batteries - there will be unintended consequences if we aren’t smart about this. What we decide today will impact tomorrow. We can help leapfrog to a better way while creating numerous opportunities along the way. Let’s lead, not follow simply because it’s the easy choice. Our Scale-up and Path to Commercialization
We will immediately have a high impact as we will help drive innovation and leapfrog to a greener battery, based in BC and Quebec. We will establish a Battery Materials Commercialization Centre in Quebec to advance our technology towards industrial scale manufacturing. Engaging all stakeholders from Federal to Provincial governments as well as current and new collaborative partners in the supply chain. The Battery Materials Commercialization Centre will involve a multi-phase large scale pilot project at the 100 tonne per annum scale for each cathode chemistry, a critical step to prepare the technology for the tens of thousands of tonnes scale. This is a significant up scaling from our current BC innovation centre activities. The initial phase will focus on iron rich (LFP) cathode active materials, followed by phases for nickel-rich (NMC), manganese-rich (LNMO) and next generation cathode materials produced with Nano One’s patented One-Pot process. This will help put Quebec and Canada on the global map for sustainable cathode production and innovation. Further it will accelerate the technology roadmap to commercialization in support of our growing list of partners and collaborators. We have been focused in British Columbia to date and have demonstrated innovation, performance and scalability. We are listening to our partners and collaborators, in the automotive industry and consumer electronics sector, and localization is key. Being in Quebec will allow us to become part of the growing battery ecosystem, support an integrated value chain where sustainability, and economic competitiveness, are the guiding principles.
Industrial Scale Cathode Manufacturing Know-How
Nano One Materials Qubec Inc. is adding crucial scale up expertise and manufacturing know-how to complement Nano One’s growing innovation team in British Columbia. The recent additions of
Denis Geoffroy as commercialization lead and
Dr. Yuan Gao as cathode technology advisor, bring decades of cathode manufacturing and leadership know-how to Nano One and its stakeholders.
Mr. Geoffroy is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of battery experience including cathode active materials with Phostech Lithium and Johnson Matthey, solid-state lithium batteries, and recycling. He was a key member of the Phostech team that pioneered and commercialized two different processes to fabricate LFP and in 2010, he built and became general manager at its commercial LFP plant, based in Quebec, Canada.
What is CAM and the Estimated Size of the Market
As the world moves towards electrification, the demand for batteries, and the raw materials needed to produce them, is rapidly increasing. Cathode Active Materials (CAM) are a key part of the battery, being the most costly and complex component. The cathode enables energy to be stored and delivered during charge and discharge of the battery, and is made by pressing CAM powders onto an ultra-thin aluminum metal foil. The cathode coated foil is laminated with an anode coated foil and a separator membrane, before it is rolled or folded into a battery cell. There are different types of CAM, each with unique benefits for use. It is expected that between 2030 and 2035 North America alone will need roughly 1.3 billion kilograms of CAM every year. The mid-stream of the battery supply chain ecosystem will mean hundreds or even thousands of jobs. Nano One is scaling-up to serve the growing demand for CAM and is aiming to be cost competitive with the greenest materials.
Localization
The localization automakers require to scale-up production of EV’s outside of Asia is requiring industry and government to rethink the battery and stop environmental issues before they get out of control. There is also a significant opportunity to repatriate jobs and increase energy security. The energy evolution is happening and is bringing to light inefficiencies and vulnerabilities in the global battery supply chain that must be remedied before they become untenable.
In the past few years, however, new technologies and government efforts to localise battery supply chains began to be developed to make production simpler and less resource intensive, reducing the cost and environmental footprint significantly. That’s where we come in. We are changing How the World Makes Battery Materials: Nano One has an industrial process in the mid-stream of the battery ecosystem for the production of low-cost, high-performance cathode powders used in lithium-ion batteries. These unique materials are being designed to add value to electric vehicles and grid storage batteries in the global push for a zero.
The Leapfrog Opportunity
This is a once in a 100-year opportunity to create energy security and a new energy supply chain that is localized and environmentally sustainable while creating billions of dollars of economic activity. The dirty, old way of making cathode active materials – the key component of a battery – doesn’t need to come to North America and the rest of the world. Environmentally and economically differentiated methods are required to be successful for safe, secure and reliable access to battery materials. The alternative solution is to rely on jurisdictions with different environmental and employment standards as well as lower cost structures (labour, land, incentives, capital).