Volt to provide Australian graphite to US alkaline battery market

Australian graphite producer and battery anode material developer Volt Resources will supply graphite and develop new technologies to improve alkaline battery performance in a new partnership with New York-based alkaline battery producer Urban Electric Power.

The ASX-listed Volt Resources and Urban Electric Power (UEP) will collaborate on the development of new technologies using non-spherical purified graphite for conductivity enhancement and ultra-high-purity graphite-based coatings to improve alkaline battery performance.

Alternatives to lithium-ion batteries are growing in importance as battery demand escalates exponentially and the environmental cost of mining the necessary rare earth materials for lithium-ion batteries becomes more apparent.

Which is what makes Volt Resources’ partnership with UEP even more valuable, as the agreement will support the development of new alkaline batteries, but the non-spherical purified graphite being supplied is made as a by-product of the spheroidization of purified graphite when producing lithium-ion battery anode material.

The non-spherical graphite material created as a by-product of the production process at Volt Resources’ Bunyu Resource mine and plant in Tanzania can be used in applications such as conductivity enhancement and other speciality uses.

“We are excited about the opportunity to work with Urban Electric Power to develop commercially based technologies to improve alkaline battery performance and lower costs,” said Trevor Matthews, Volt Managing Director.

“Volt views the alkaline battery market as a tremendous opportunity to participate in a sector with annual sales of US$7.5 billion.

“This collaboration introduces Volt to the US battery market and the board expects the JDA will accelerate the commercialization of Volt’s downstream value-added graphite products in various battery applications.”

The non-spherical purified graphite supplied is expected to noticeably improve the alkaline battery performance while also benefiting end users by offering consumers of UEP’s alkaline battery technologies a more attractive cost structure than is currently available.

The development of non-spherical graphite products for the alkaline battery market will also improve the economics of Volt’s own planned battery anode material facilities set to be built in the United States and Europe.

These planned facilities will utilise Volt’s current flake graphite production capability at its Zavalievsky graphite business in Eastern Europe in combination with the Bunyu graphite project development in Tanzania.

“Urban Electric Power is enthusiastic about the opportunity to collaborate with Volt and its technology partner in the United States, American Energy Technologies Co,” said Alex Couzis, Urban Electric Power Chief Technology Advisor.

“Volt is a very innovative company in the area of graphite’s and mixing and they’re open culture toward collaboration is inspiring.”

Finalisation of the joint development agreement is expected to be executed in January, after which Volt and UEP plan to enter into an offtake agreement for the supply of ultra-high-purity graphite-based coatings and additives, in addition to potential licensing benefits derived from the intellectual property developed.