Australian battery materials company wins $100m US government grant

Leading battery materials company Novonix has secured a $US100 million grant from the US Department of Energy which will support expanded production of synthetic graphite anode materials at its production facility in Tennessee.

Novonix, an ASX- and NASDAQ-listed company headquartered in Canada but with ties to the United States and Australia, announced on Wednesday that its Anode Materials division had finalised the $US100 million grant.

The grant will help Novonix expand domestic production of high-performance, synthetic graphite anode materials at its Riverside facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Specifically, the grant will support the installation and commissioning of equipment to expand production capacity at its Riverside facility to 20,000 tonnes per annum.

Under the terms of the grant, Novonix will match the grant amount, with the goal to begin production at its Riverside facility in late 2024.

“We are excited to complete the award negotiation with the DOE and expand the capacity of our Riverside facility,” said Dr. Chris Burns, CEO of Novonix.

“The ability to deploy $100 million towards Riverside’s recently increased production targets will have an immediate beneficial impact on the Company’s plans and the battery materials supply chain here in North America.

“Recent Chinese export controls on graphite reiterate the importance of building domestic supply in the US.

“We remain committed to continued expansion and building additional production facilities with our focus currently on reaching mass production at Riverside to demonstrate our ability to compete, both technically and commercially, on a global scale.”

Novonix is also progressing with plans to build a new synthetic graphite manufacturing facility with an initial production target of at least 30,000 tonnes per annum.

The company, which in September received up to $3.5 million from the Canadian government to fund research and development, says it is in the process of seeking further funding support from the US Department of Energy.