Altech Chemicals has tabled an eye-catching set of numbers in its preliminary feasibility study for a 10,000 tonne per annum high-purity alumina coating battery material plant which it plans to build in the bustling Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park in Germany. The study estimates the plant will churn out US$63 million per annum once in operation on a capital investment of just US$95 million. However, perhaps more remarkably, the company says at full bore, the facility could generate around US$185 million per annum.
Producing an internal rate of return at a handsome 40 per cent it is expected the total investment into the operation, which boasts a net-present value estimated at US$507, should be repaid in full a touch over 3 years.
Altech has been pressing ahead with the development of the German-based battery material plant in recent months following its 75 per cent owned subsidiary, Altech Industries Germany, exercising an option to purchase a 14ha industrial site.
The company says it is an ideal location for the 10,000-tonne per annum HPA plant.
The 14ha site in the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park is shaping up to be a major automotive development centre with Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche, Daimler, and Tesla among the companies picking up neighbouring real estate in addition to a number of high-profile lithium-ion battery companies.
It has also been widely reported that electric vehicle juggernaut Tesla has declared in order to increase lithium-ion battery energy density and reduce costs it needs to introduce silicon in battery anodes, as silicon has around ten times the energy retention capacity compared to graphite.
Altech says minimising environmental impact has been a significant consideration in the plant’s design, and it will function in accordance with German, European and international environmental criteria.
At the Saxony plant, Altech Industries Germany plans to use Altech’s proprietary technology to apply HPA coatings across precursor battery anode materials to build an advanced product line that can be used in the lithium-ion battery sector.
The company has employed its coating process to create a series of lithium-ion battery anode materials with a 30 per cent greater retention volume than traditional graphite-only version. Its use of silicone in lithium-ion battery research has been hailed as a “breakthrough” by the parent company.
According to management, it has now started product qualification engineering for the pilot plant and executed a non-disclosure agreement with two German automakers and a European battery maker.
Suggesting boom times ahead for the industry, BloombergNEF recently estimated that by 2040 58 per cent of all new automobiles will be either electric or hybrid. The report also highlighted electric vehicles could account for approximately 40 per cent of overall sales in Germany by 2025.
Altech’s proposed HPA plant looks to be ideally located, nestled amongst a who’s who of Europe’s lithium-ion battery segment. For the next decade the region is also expected to be one of the world’s fastest growing markets in demand for electric vehicles. With a facility to feed that demand now looking like the real deal sitting at the very heart of the action, Altech Chemicals seems to be making all the right moves.
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By Matt Birney
