Nano One Materials Corp (TSX:NANO, OTC:NNOMF) has completed its previously announced C$10.25 million acquisition of Johnson Matthey Battery Materials Ltd (JMBM Canada), giving the company access to the only lithium iron phosphate (LFP) production facility in North America.
The 80,000 square foot (sq ft) facility has a capacity of 2,400 tonnes per annum and is located on 9.5 acres near Montreal. JMBM employs 46 professionals with almost 400 years of scale-up, commercialization, and cathode manufacturing know-how on LFP, the company said.
The company also operates certification systems supplying tier 1 cell manufacturers for the automotive sector.
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Meanwhile, Nano One also announced that veteran lithium-ion battery industry executive Denis Geoffroy has been named chief commercialization officer, effective Tuesday.
Geoffroy was previously an early contributor to Phostech Lithium, which led the first commercial manufacturing of LFP cathode active materials globally, the company said. He oversaw Phostech’s commercialization of LFP in Québec and its growth from a pilot plant to full industrial commercialization with the build of the Candiac LFP plant, which he would go on to lead. The Candiac plant was acquired by JMBM in 2015.
“I am pleased to report that the entire team in Candiac has transitioned to Nano One and this positions us with the most experienced LFP workforce in North America,” CEO Dan Blondal said in a statement. “... Denis has contributed significantly to Nano One over the past year and played an integral role in the acquisition of JMBM Canada and we are delighted to be appointing him as chief commercialization officer.”
The Candiac facility and team in Montreal will be a base for the expansion and acceleration of Nano One’s commercialization strategy, the company said, working in concert with Nano One’s technology innovation hub and team in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Integration activities have been underway for the past few months and are expected to continue into the second quarter of 2023.
Nano One has planned trials in the Candiac facility to validate the production of LFP using the company’s patented one-pot process. Results from these trials will drive business, commercial and plant conversion decisions in 2023.
Additionally, the company expects to begin work on the design, construction and operation of a commercial LFP facility. The plan is to use this plant as a blueprint for large multi-line production facilities under a hybrid business model that includes licensing, joint venture and independent production in Canada, the US and other emerging critical mineral jurisdictions.
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