NEO Battery Materials Ltd said it has successfully increased the capacity of production at its pilot plant up to a semi-commercial scale facility.
The Vancouver-based resource company’s upscaled technology produces silicon anode materials manufactured through NEO's proprietary nanocoating process.
The semi-commercial plant project is now finalized to produce 120 tons per year, a 12-fold increase from the original 10 tons per year capacity.
READ: NEO Battery Materials receives three new silicon anode prototype requests
“Assuming a ratio of 9:1 for graphite to silicon in the anode (a 10% silicon loading), 120 tons per year produced by NEO's semi-commercial plant is sufficient to supply 40,000 electric vehicles (EVs),” the company said.
Additionally, NEO is currently in the process of increasing the silicon content in the anode component by over a 20% loading as a short-term project through controlling volume expansion and solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) growth.
This development is a key step in the company approaching a 100% silicon anode, in line with its end goal.
"All of the progress is exceeding our expectations and predicted timeline as our team is diligently accelerating our commercialization process. Based on internal sample testing results and the optimization of our manufacturing process, we have validated the ability to upscale from a pilot to a semi-commercial scale facility,” Spencer Huh, president and CEO of NEO, said in the statement.
Huh continued: “Between all management, advisors, and engineers, there is unanimous agreement and great confidence for the mass adoption of NEO's silicon anodes by the industry. Using the prototype testing results by our NDA partners, we can optimize our processes and material design for a more robust and convincing commercial plant."
The company views its ability to upscale the plant size positively as an indication of the mass production viability of NEO's silicon anodes. After construction and once processes are optimized, the semi-commercial plant will be able to be readily converted into a commercial-scale facility without substantial modifications.
The company said Suk Joong Hwang, a member of NEO Battery's Scientific Advisory Board, has been appointed as the project manager for the semi-commercial plant project. Hwang has over 20 years of experience in process engineering and specializes in scaling up products from the lab to mass production through pilot and semi-commercial plants.
The company went on to note that the location of the semi-commercial facility is being narrowed down, and is expected to be approximately 55,000 square feet with numerous South Korean battery cell and material manufacturers in the proximity.
“The plant will be designed and constructed for versatility to flexibly respond to and satisfy customers' detailed needs and specifications. In addition to capacity, the semi-commercial plant will retain the identical technical precision and optimized process as a mass-production commercial facility,” Hwang said.
“The PDP (Process Design Package), which will be completed with the plant's installation, will be standardized for international use, and this will enable the swift completion and success of future commercial plants in North America," he added.
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