A company chaired by ex-state Treasurer Mike Nahan has launched a demonstration laboratory for cathode active materials precursor as it aims to be the first local maker of the key battery input.
A company chaired by former state Treasurer Mike Nahan has launched a demonstration laboratory for cathode active materials precursor as it aims to be the first local manufacturer of the vital battery input.
Launched by Premier Roger Cook, whose government put in $3 million for the laboratory through its Investment Attraction Fund and allocated 8.8 hectares of land in the Kwinana-Rockingham Strategic Industrial Area, the private company has plans to produce up to 40,000 tonnes of pCAM by 2027.
Australian Energy Storage Solutions, which trades as Austvolt, was also granted $5.5m in May by the federal government’s $50 million Critical Minerals Development Program for a pilot plant in Kwinana where it is seeking to be the first commercial scale producer of pCAM in Australia.
The Bentley laboratory facility will allow Austvolt to produce samples of its pCAM product, which can be used in battery manufacturing trials with the electric vehicle industry.
Nickel sulphate for the testing process is coming from BHP Nickel West’s plant in Kwinana, signalling the first step in the chain of emerging battery materials hopefuls in an area the state calls Lithium Valley.
Also in the race to produce commercial scale pCAM is the Integrated Battery Material Facility joint venture between ASX-listed IGO and the Forrest family’s Wyloo Metals, another Kwinana project which is mooted to cost between $600 million and $1 billion.
The precursor material is a vital component for manufacturing lithium battery cells, which have a range of uses including in electric vehicles.
Austvolt’s project is expected to cost about $350 million. It has raised $1.9 million in private capital to date from local and overseas sources and is currently in the market for about $5 million as an early stage investment ahead of a proposed $25 million raising in the near term.
Austvolt managing director and founder Peeyush Mathur said a stock market float was a consideration, possibly by the end of the financial year, although bringing in a big partner was also a possibility.
Mr Mathur said that the world would be pCAM deficit until 2040 when it was expected capacity would catch up with demand.
"pCAM is the key to manufacturing (electric) cars," he said.
"We have the minerals here, so it's a sellers' market."
Beyond having the minerals here, Mr Mathur said WA was aided in taking advantage of this demand by strong ESG credentials when it comes to being a source of materials and manufacturing.
