NEO Battery Materials Ltd. said it has successfully completed a silicon (Si) anode production capacity upscaling project over the past three months.
From the initial production rate of several grams per hour for manufacturing silicon anode materials at the lab scale, the company said its engineering team has managed to expand the rate to a level of several kilograms per hour.
It said this is a result of improving productivity by more than 1,000-fold, and the success of the project at this level has given stronger validation for the 120-ton semi-commercial plant that is scheduled to be commissioned in South Korea by the end of next year.
READ: NEO Battery Materials announces successful completion of semi-commercial plant conceptual design
"As NEO understands the need to fast-track into mass production, we are pleased to announce the accomplishment of the upscaling project,” CEO Spencer Huh said in a statement.
“The company is at the forefront of developing unique Si anode lines through the low-cost manufacturing process, and we are customizing solutions for various downstream users to optimize the products for high-power electric vehicle lithium-ion battery applications.”
In addition to increasing the throughput rate from the project, NEO said it has reduced the number of solvents used in the one-pot synthesis by more than 50%, thereby significantly lowering the processing cost of the Si anode material.
"NEO Battery's Nanocoated Silicon Anode that is based on low-cost metallurgical-grade Si utilizes NEO's optimized milling technique and nanocoating technologies simultaneously, which innovatively improve the poor cycling performance and life of Metal-Si,” Chief Scientific Advisor Dr Jong Hyeok Park added.
“By aiming to implement a continuous process, NEO is attempting to shift the paradigm for production methods and efficiencies of existing battery anode and cathode materials.”
The company also announced that as of the week of November 1, 2021, its South Korean subsidiary, NEO Battery Materials Korea Co. (NBMK) has been established and registered as a foreign-invested corporation.
Through NBMK, it seeks to create relationships with the Korean provincial governments to apply for grants and to expand business opportunities in the lithium-ion battery supply chain, the company added.
NEO Battery is a Vancouver-based company focused on battery metals and materials and on producing silicon anodes materials through its proprietary single-step nanocoating process, which provides improvements in capacity and efficiency over lithium-ion batteries using graphite in their anode materials.
The company intends to become a silicon anode active materials supplier to the electric vehicle industry.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com