The Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre (FBICRC) has signed contracts to design and commission its flagship Cathode Precursor Production pilot plant in Western Australia.
The pilot aims to demonstrate Australia’s capability to produce cost-effective, high-quality nickel, cobalt and manganese for producing precursor cathode active materials (PCAM).
PCAM is a form of advanced chemical manufacturing and is a key material used in lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles.
A consortium of leading local, national and international companies, the WA Government, contractors and academic institutions have all signed on for the project to advance the production of advanced battery materials on an industrial scale in Western Australia.
The FBICRC and its partners will make an investment valued at over $18 million, which included $9.2 million cash and $9.2 million in-kind including the repurposing of BHP’s existing nickel sulfate pilot plant, to produce the present generation of cathode chemistries used in electric vehicles (EV) from locally sourced materials.
FBICRC chief executive officer Stedman Ellis said Australia currently exports the main commodities (lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt) in the form of mineral concentrates with little value added from the manufacturing of lithium-ion battery materials retained in the country.
“The construction and commissioning of refining plants at Kwinana and Kemerton is changing this picture, putting WA on the...
Read Full Story: https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/fbicrc-pilot-plant-puts-wa-on-the-battery-material-map/
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