Overview
MKPLUS Corporation (headquartered in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Phenom Resources Corporation (listed on the TSX Toronto Venture Stock Market, Canada, the OTCQX American OTC Market, and the FSE Frankfurt Stock Market. (hereinafter referred to as “PR”) for the establishment of a joint venture company to process vanadium.
About the Company’s Business
Our company is developing a new type of battery using the element vanadium. It has superior features mainly in storage battery applications for renewable energy, such as: 1) non-flammability and non-explosion, 2) ultra-short recharge time (up to 350C-rate), 3) almost unlimited lifetime (no degradation after 15,000 cycles at Dod > 90%), 4) almost no heat generation, and 5) usable at operating environment temperatures of -40°C to +100°C. The current development status is single cell. The current development status is as follows: single cell development is complete, module development is complete, third-party evaluation is complete, advance orders in excess of 500MWh have been secured, and preparations for mass production will be made upon completion of fundraising. In June of this year, we will conduct charge-discharge evaluations at an actual power generation facility in Europe.
Aims of the Memorandum of Understanding
In the battery processing business, we have been purchasing intermediate processed vanadium products from external suppliers, but according to our sales plan, there was a possibility that the supply would be insufficient after 2028. With the conclusion of this MOU, we will be able to secure a supply of at least 20% of the amount of vanadium mined by PH after 2028, when mining is scheduled to begin. This corresponds to approximately 10 GWh of battery production under the plan, and a maximum of 50 GWh can be secured.
Expected Secondary Effects and Future Prospects
Several secondary effects are expected from the conclusion of the MOU.
First, the possibility of securing the necessary amount of vanadium resources, which are unevenly distributed in China and Russia, only by supplying them in Western countries has increased, and the business risk of international conflict due to the recent war in Ukraine has been greatly reduced.
The intermediate compounds produced by the joint venture have the potential to increase the energy density properties of the batteries themselves. This development will be integrated with battery development and will contribute to shortening the development time for improving battery properties.
In addition, MKPLUS representatives have an idea for a less expensive mining method. The possibility of developing such a business will be enhanced by the wealth of knowledge accumulated in the joint venture company. If this were to be realized, the resource cost of the battery could be almost zero.
The establishment of this joint venture will also open the door for MKPLUS to enter the resource business. This will enable us to secure a stable supply of other materials for batteries in line with our battery business strategy through integrated development from mining. In addition, the development of materials suitable for the battery can be carried out in parallel with the development of the battery, making it easier to improve the battery’s characteristics. This can be a significant competitive advantage in the business.
Finally, since PH is listed on several stock exchanges, the press release is expected to give MKPLUS a boost in its fundraising efforts. Although we have already received several offers for higher investments, the continued availability of high quality investors is an eternal challenge in the continuation of a business of this scale.
Our battery is the only technology in the world that has neither similar patents nor similar technology, but we will continue to build our business without resting on our laurels.
Please look forward to the future of our company.