Altech scores approval to build German battery facility

Altech Batteries has secured the necessary environmental and construction permit to build the company’s Cerenergy GridPack production facility in Saxony, Germany, and can now focus on locking in project finance for the build. 

The Subiaco-based company began the permit application process in September 2023 for its 120-megawatt Cerenergy facility, which will produce a battery based on common table salt.

The company’s definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the project indicates a pre-tax net present value of €169 million (A$291m), annual revenue of €106m (A$182m), a €51m (A$88m) EBITDA  and a 3.7-year payback period. 

With the approval now in Altech’s kit bag, the company can now move to secure the necessary finance to build the project, which was recently awarded “Dark Green” certification – the highest rating offered by global ratings agency Standard & Poor’s – for the Cerenergy salt battery project.

S&P’s certification opened the door for the company to explore potential funding from the huge global green bond market, which has grown exponentially to US$250 billion (A$395b) per year.

Management believes Cerenergy has the lowest carbon footprint and supply chain requirements of any battery, as its primary component is sodium chloride, the basic ingredient in table salt. 

It says using one of the world’s most environmentally friendly raw materials for energy storage technology reinforces its green status.

The company ran its DFS program alongside the permitting process, which it says will prevent delays in ramping up project execution. Altech can now look to source competitive finance with government approvals in and some compelling DFS numbers.

Altech Batteries managing director Iggy Tan said: “We are pleased to have received the final licensing approval for our 120MWh Cerenergy battery project so early. Our approach of being dynamic, quick-moving and to run things concurrently, puts Altech in good stead to complete the financing process.”  

Altech expects its new-age batteries to be in strong demand from a range of industries, including data centres and hospitals. The batteries could also potentially be supplied to the heavy industry steel and chemical sectors. Altech believes the batteries could provide a long-term solution for grid storage.

Management has three offtake agreements already in place for its Cerenergy GridPacks, which will account for all of the first two years of production and more than 50 per cent of all GridPacks produced in the ensuing three years.

The company recently sought to streamline the ownership structure of its Cerenergy and Silumina Anodes projects, which are owned by its German-listed subsidiary Altech Advanced Materials. 

By issuing fully paid shares in Altech Batteries to purchase minority stakes in the projects, the company will move to 75 per cent ownership of Cerenergy and assume full control of the Silumina Anodes project. 

The company’s research partner, Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute, will remain a 25 per cent joint venture partner in the Cerenergy project. Management is anticipating the deal, which requires regulatory clearance and shareholder approval, will be set in stone by mid-year.

Altech’s Cerenergy batteries operate in extreme hot and cold climates, have a lifespan of more than 15 years and are fire and explosion-proof. They use a cutting-edge solid-state sodium chloride system recognised for its remarkably low scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions of just 14 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour (kg CO2/kWh). 

In comparison, a recent study by the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute concluded the lithium-ion batteries used in vehicles emitted 61-106kg CO2/kWh from initial manufacture through to recycling. 

Altech is also pushing forward with its Silumina Anodes project, which adds high-capacity silicon into lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle market. The company says the technology delivers lighter, more energy-dense batteries with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The company announced in October it has supercharged its alumina-coated silicon anodes to boost the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries by 55 per cent after combining graphite with its high-tech anodes.

Management says the game-changing results stem from its strategy to coat silicon particles with alumina, overcoming previous drawbacks associated with using silicon as an anode material.

Its test results in October returned a significant 55 per cent improvement in the average energy capacity of its anodes, blowing its previous results out of the water. It says the use of alumina to coat the silicon particles helps overcome some of the major drawbacks associated with silicon use in anodes.

The company’s two-pronged approach to making waves within the battery industry appears to be gaining traction. With the approval to begin construction of its grid-storage battery facility, coupled with superb test results on its Silumina anodes designed for the EV market, Altech’s name may be worth its salt in the battery world.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au