NEO Battery Materials Ltd has provided corporate updates on InterBattery 2022, full cell testing updates with high energy capacity NBMSiDE, and the near completion of its R&D Scale-Up Centre for continuous sample manufacturing.
As an exhibitor, the management and engineering team of NEO Battery Materials attended InterBattery 2022 from March 17 to March 19, 2022. During the 3-day period, NEO said it held numerous meetings with battery-related manufacturing and materials companies that operate on both the local and international scale, and through these meetings, the industry's active interest in utilizing silicon anode materials was reaffirmed.
NEO noted that companies presented a specific interest in NEO's progress with the development of the South Korean Mass-Production Commercial Plant and the optimized technology and manufacturing process of NEO's Silicon Anode Materials - NBMSiDE.
With multiple companies with the intention of collaboration, joint ventures, or other cooperative agreements, NEO said it has undertaken NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and additional processes with these parties, and among the discussed companies include global top-tier battery manufacturers and material manufacturers.
READ: NEO Battery announces completion of construction, design, and permit contract for its silicon anode commercial plant in South Korea
NEO also said it is advancing its silicon anode technology through a proprietary single-step manufacturing process with cost-effective silicon microparticle inputs that provides significant cost reductions and performance enhancements for the lithium-ion battery end-user.
Through a mix of treatments and nanocoating materials, NEO utilizes pure metallurgical-grade silicon particles, which provide a 40-70% higher initial specific energy or capacity compared to current competitors that employ SiOx, SiC, or other composite silicon materials.
Due to NEO's advantage of retaining a higher initial capacity, on average, a 5% silicon weight loading of NBMSiDE can have the equivalent impact of a 10% loading of a competitor's materials. Initial coulombic efficiencies (ICE) for NEO's 100% micron-size level Si anode have exceeded the 86% level, and cycling performance presents excellent capacity retention after 300 charging/discharging cycles even with inexpensive and conventional polymer binders and super-P carbon black conductive additives.
With the near completion of pouch cell manufacturing, the full cell testing process with NBMSiDE is in progress in South Korea, and the company will continue to conduct continuous cycling tests to both examine and optimize performance in the full cell setting. Due to the recent rapid spread of the Omicron virus in Korea, there was a delay due to internal circumstances of the testing agency, but fortunately, NEO has received notice that the regular testing schedule will occur accordingly.
The company said it will shortly provide the completed production and details of the full pouch cells.
R&D Scale-Up Centre ready for full operation in early April
Currently, in the final stages of construction, NEO said most of the procured equipment has been received and the commissioning of the R&D Scale-Up Centre in South Korea has been completed.
From early April, efficient production, and quality assurance and management of samples will be enabled through the comprehensive control of equipment for NBMSiDE sample mass production, and with NEO's R&D personnel, continuous operation of the facility will occur to further enhance the production and performance of the silicon anode materials.
Furthermore, the company said it will perform additional R&D with graphite anode active materials to manufacture silicon-graphite composite (mixture) anodes through a short-term equipment lease.
The first refined sample of NBMSiDE has been provided to a Europe-based battery materials company, and a second delivery is planned in April. NEO said it is additionally conducting sample tests with several Asia-based and European battery manufacturers.
NBMSiDE is NEO's flagship silicon anode material for electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries. It comes in three variations, P100, P200, and C100, and is manufactured through the company's proprietary nanocoating technology.
All product lines are based on metallurgical-grade silicon microparticles and retain a high specific capacity of >2,500 mAh/g. Through the company's South Korean intellectual property (IP) law firm, NBMSiDE is pending trademark approval.
NEO Battery Materials is a Vancouver-based company focused on electric vehicle lithium-ion battery materials. It has a focus on producing silicon anode 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 jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com