Altech Chemicals awards engineering contract to Küttner for pilot battery materials coating plant
Altech Chemicals plans to build a 10,000tpa battery material HPA coating plant in Saxony to meet anticipated high demand in Europe.
Altech Chemicals’ (ASX: ATC) battery materials coating plant is a step closer to development with the award of the engineering contract to German firm Küttner GmbH & Co for the pilot facility.
Küttner has been given the contract for final engineering of the battery materials coating pilot plant that will be constructed in Saxony.
Engineering work is beginning immediately with procurement and construction to follow.
The pilot plant is expected to produce about 120kg a day of coated battery anode material. The coated anodes will then be made available to select battery manufacturers and auto makers in Europe.
According to Altech, Küttner has strong experience in design, procurement, project and construction management, as well as plant commissioning across various industries.
Küttner has also previously completed metallurgical plant, water and off-gas projects in Germany – which Altech says will bring “valuable knowledge” to developing the pilot plant.
HPA coating pilot plant
Awarding the engineering contract for the pilot plant follows completion of the preliminary design at the beginning of the month.
The plant will take up about 300 square metres of space within the Dock3 facility, which is adjacent to the designated site for the commercial plant at Saxony’s Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park.
Next the pilot plant will be an analytical laboratory, which will enable rapid assessment of product purity and monitor physical parameters to allow for any modifications.
Data from the pilot plant will feed into Altech’s proposed 10,000 tonne per annum commercial plant.
The plants are incorporating Altech’s high purity alumina coating technology, with the goal of supplying HPA-coated anodes to battery markers in the region.
HPA for the plant will be produced at Altech’s proposed facility in Malaysia, which is expected to generate about 4,5000 of 99.99% pure feedstock.
To secure graphite and silicon anode material for coating in HPA, Altech has signed non-binding memorandum of understandings with SGL Carbon and Ferroglobe.