Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25) has unveiled more of its plan to produce battery-grade manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) from manganese oxide concentrates produced at its 100%-owned Butcherbird Project.
HPMSM is the highest purity of manganese, used in lithium-ion batteries. Demand for this specialty material is expected to grow rapidly in coming years in line with the growth in production of electric vehicles (EVs).
The company is running a feasibility study into the production of HPMSM via the hydrometallurgical processing of manganese concentrate from the Butcherbird Project in Western Australia.
Design one – build many
The feasibility design philosophy for the plant is to ‘design one – build many’. This approach – a feature of some of the most successful manufacturing models – will optimise design so that the core elements of the plant can be reproduced globally while minimising the level of localisation required.
The study will also assess the logistics, infrastructure, reagent availability, site-specific civil engineering and government incentives for which Element 25 may be eligible.
As part of the study, the company is sizing up multiple locations with a view to selecting the site of the first HPMSM module.
Malaysian production location
Sarawak Malaysia is one of the potential sites for the construction of the first plant and localisation studies are underway to assess its suitability.
A number of Malaysian news publications recently reported that E25 is in discussions with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority and the Sarawak state government to build the first planned conversion plant in Sarawak to produce HPMSM for lithium-ion batteries used by EVs.
E25 managing director Justin Brown said: “Element 25 is moving rapidly towards achieving its goal of becoming a world-class, low-carbon battery materials manufacturer to supply the world’s growing need for sustainable battery materials.
“We look forward to working closely with the Malaysian authorities to determine whether Sarawak is the optimal location for the development of our first processing facility as we pivot Element 25 to be a key participant in this emerging industry.”
Discussions are also in train with potential offtake partners with respect to a Europe or US-based location for either the first or subsequent conversion facility builds.
Fuelling new global mobility
Manganese is emerging as an increasingly important ingredient for EV batteries, with potential supply constraints for nickel and cobalt forcing battery manufacturers to look to high manganese cathodes to produce the vast amount of cathode material required by the EV industry in coming years.
The company sees the Butcherbird Project as uniquely placed to feed this potential demand.
Advanced flowsheet development work conducted in 2019 and 2020 confirmed that a simple leach process for E25 ores, when combined with offsets, could target the world’s first zero carbon manganese for EV cathode manufacture.
Battery EV penetration rate to increase
The company sees cost reduction as a key commercial driver in EV uptake.
VW's Power Day suggested that a 50% cost reduction for batteries – cell design (-15%), production process (-10%), cathode/anode materials (-20%) and battery systems (-5%) – could drive the change.
Global penetration for the electric vehicle battery market is expected to rise to 15.2% by 2025 and 39.5% in 2030 – led by Europe and China, according to Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s latest report.