With 50 million electric vehicles expected to roll off the assembly line in five years, the industry will no longer be in its infancy, thanks in large part to Elon Musk’s Tesla (Tesla) Commercialization efforts.
The role of lithium-ion battery technology has been deeply rooted, and it is now a case of continuous improvement of the technology, which has won the belief of vacillating consumers who are concerned about battery durability, performance, and vital cost.
Just as runners struggled to break through the four-minute journey in the 1950s, the electric car industry set its unofficial goal of reaching 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) of battery life—about twice the current maximum life expectancy.
As a pioneer in advanced battery materials, Novonix, a technology company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, played a key role in breaking through the battery equivalent to the four-minute mile of Roger Bannister in 1954.
Dr. Chris Burns, Chief Operating Officer of Novonix, said: “Our company’s focus is to support long-life battery materials at a lower cost.”
“In the next ten years, the growth in battery demand will be huge, most of which will come from electric vehicles and energy storage systems.”
Long before the “see-through” technology became fashionable, Novonix was an aspiring graphite miner, listed as Graphitecorp in 2015. The company refocused on downstream battery applications in 2017 through the acquisition of Novonix, headquartered in Novia Scotia, founded by Dr. Burns and the CTO. Officer David Stevens and established PUREgraphite.
As it happens, this move is at the right time, as it shifts the company from a crowded graphite and lithium market to a booming battery environment.
Novonix’s most advanced work is concentrated in its subsidiary PUREgraphite in Tennessee. In the first quarter, PUREgraphite began commercial production at the Chattanooga plant at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains.
Currently, PUREgraphite is the only anode material synthetic graphite supplier in the United States. At a time when the coronavirus highlights the supply chain risk of relying on the intermediate kingdom, most of the global supply comes from China.
According to Dr. Burns, compared to natural products, synthetic graphite has higher purity and consistency, and therefore helps to extend battery life.
In order to “prepare batteries”, natural graphite requires multiple processes to achieve a purity of 99.95%.
The synthetic product can achieve a purity of 99.999%-in layman’s terms, its purity is about the same.
In December last year, Nonovix announced a maiden deal to provide anode materials for lithium-ion batteries to South Korean electronics giant Samsung.
This transaction is Samsung’s first purchase of materials from outside Asia. The transaction shows that Novonix will deliver 500 tons of materials from October this year.
In January of this year, Novonix followed up with a non-binding agreement to provide materials to Sanyo. Samsung and Sanyo account for 40% of the global lithium-ion battery market.
Dr. Burns said: “We hope to greatly improve these two relationships during this fiscal year.”
Then there is the company’s battery technology solutions department, which has applied for a patent for a new method that can produce cheaper and better-performing cathode materials.
The “secret sauce” is located in Novonix’s patented process, called dry particle micronization (DPMG), which reduces waste and reduces costs.
DPMG involves consolidating fine materials into tiny particles tens and microns wide. As a “dry” process, it does not produce waste water and uses materials originally used for waste hoppers.
Dr. Burns said: “The cathode market is significantly larger than the anode market.” “The cost of materials is two to three times higher, and the battery output per kilowatt hour is 1.5 to 2 kilograms more than the anode.
Novonix’s third research involves developing an improved electrolyte system (another key aspect of lithium-ion batteries), but this is a secondary focus of the company’s anode and cathode plans.
Dr. Burns said: “We are applying for the first patent on the electrolyte system. If we find something interesting, we may use them with our partners or obtain a license.”
So far, investors who are unwilling to accept investment have been satisfied with Novonix’s situation, and since the beginning of April, the stock has risen more than five times.
Baseless reports about Tesla’s interest in the company fueled the animal sentiment in the market. Novonix management did not comment on this rumor, but Dr. Burns admitted that they prompted investors to listen to the company’s story. “Frankly, we have been telling this story for the past two years.”
Reflecting the renewed interest of investors, the company flocked to the company’s just-completed equity fundraising of $63 million through oversubscription agency placements and allotments and retail allotments.
Of the $25.5 million received, it will be used to repay convertible bonds and repay directors’ loans to clean up the balance sheet.
It will also invest another US$23.5 million to expand the Chattanooga plant to an annual production capacity of 2,000 tons. The five-year target is 25,000 tons and the 10-year target is 100,000 tons.
According to industry forecasts, by 2030, synthetic graphite anode materials will surge from the current 115,000 tons per year to 700,000 tons per year.
Dr. Burns said: “Between the anode graphite and cathode markets, today’s market size is approximately US$10 billion (US$14 billion), and it will grow to US$510 billion in the next five to ten years.”
History shows that Roger Bannister’s record operation has been improved after only 46 days, and the performance indicators of the battery space are also improving.
Dr. Burns said: “The demand for these materials is high performance and low cost, and this is the focus of all our innovations.”
Tim Boreham (Tim Boreham) edits “The New Standard.” Many readers will remember that Boreham has been the author of the Criterion column in The Australian for more than a decade. He has more than 30 years of business reporting experience in three major publications.
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