EcoGraf signs milestone deal for Tanzania graphite mining operation

Australia-listed EcoGraf said on April 18 it had signed a milestone deal to move ahead with development of a natural graphite mining operation in Tanzania to supply its battery anode materials business.

EcoGraf signed a framework agreement with Tanzania’s government for the Epanko graphite project, which is also to support lithium-ion EV battery manufacturing operations in Asia, Europe and North America.

Epanko will be developed and operated by a newly formed joint venture mining firm, Duma TanzGraphite, in which EcoGraf has an 84% stake to the Tanzanian government’s 16%.

EcoGraf said it will use its proprietary HFfree purification technology to process Epanko’s flake graphite without the use of hydrofluoric acid to produce high performance BAM.

EcoGraf said in March that initial operations at Epanko should produce 60,000 tonnes per annum of graphite flake product over a lifespan of more than 17 years.

LG Chem, Huayou to invest in Korea battery precursors plant

LG Chem and China’s Huayou Cobalt are to invest KRW1.2 trillion ($909 million) in a joint venture to build a battery precursor plant in South Korea.

LG Chem announced on April 17 that it expects to start construction of the facility in Saemangeum later this year.

The battery maker said the facility will also be able to produce metal sulfates, giving it a domestic metals refining capacity to ease raw material supply chain concerns.

The deal came just days after South Korea’s government announced a multibillion dollar package of support for its battery sector in the face of lucrative US incentives for the battery industry stateside (see our report on page xx).

LG Chem and Huayou have signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint venture with other investment partners including the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency.

The facility will have an annual production capac- ity of 50,000 tonnes by 2026, following the first phase of development.

Production capacity will later be doubled.

LG Chem said about 100,000 tonnes of precursors is enough to annually produce cathodes for more than one million EVs with 75kWh batteries providing a driving range of 500km.

In February 2022, EcoGraf received conditional approval for a loan from the Australian government for the equivalent of up to $40 million to support the expansion of the company’s BAM facility in Western Australia.

As Energy Storage Journal went to press there were rumours that EcoGraf was about to conclude a supply agreement with Korean conglomerate Posco to provide battery grade graphite for the coming 10 years.

CATL commits to 2025 carbon neutral battery production plan

Chinese lithium batteries major Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has said it plans to achieve carbon neutrality across its battery plants by 2025.

Board secretary Jiang Li told the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition on April 18 that carbon neutrality would apply across its battery value chain, including raw materials, by 2035.

Meanwhile, Li said CATL would use its position as a new board member of the Global Batteries Alliance to play an active role in formulating and improving the organization’s battery passport initiative — a pilot program to provide a ‘digital twin’ of physical batteries to aid supply chain transparency through to eventual recycling.

Li also cited latest data by SNE Research, indicating CATL had sold 289GWh of lithium-ion batteries in 2022, giving it a 37% share of the global EV batteries market and a share of more than 43% of the global energy storage batteries market.

In September 2022, CATL said cobalt and lithium used in a battery cells supply deal with Germany’s BMW would be sourced from certified mines, in a move to head-off potential criticism over sustainability and human rights issues.

VARTA cutting jobs despite plans for ESS expansion

VARTA said on April 25 it would cut around 800 full-time jobs across the group, just days after pledging a significant expansion of ESS sales and production following a restructure of the business.

Around 390 of the job cuts will be in Germany over the next two years — 240 of those taking place this year. VARTA employs around 4,700 worldwide.

The company said the cuts were a result of its restructuring and in response to massive price increases for materials amid global crises, including the RussiaUkraine war and impact of the pandemic.

VARTA board of directors speaker Markus Hackstein said: “We have to shape the specifications of the restructuring plan in such a way that we can secure the future of our company while retaining as many jobs as possible.”

On April 19, the company said it planned a significant expansion of production and sales of energy storage systems after proposals to restructure its business were given the go-ahead by financing banks.

The restructuring programme includes making targeted investments in growth areas, which the battery maker said included focusing on strong demand for ESS systems from the renewable energy market.

In addition, the company said it wanted to expand its market share of large format lithium ion cells.