Impact Minerals Advances High Purity Alumina Into Battery Cell Validation

Impact Minerals (ASX: IPT) has moved its 50%-owned associated company Alluminous into battery validation after completing the first major technical milestone in a development program with New York-based battery technology company Charge CCCV (C4V).

The work showed Alluminous high purity alumina (HPA) could be engineered to the particle-size specifications required for advanced lithium-ion battery separator coatings without compromising its chemical purity.

Testing also produced a stable, sodium-free, water-based slurry suitable for separator coating evaluation, clearing the way for the material to be incorporated into full battery cells.

The next stage will focus on battery architecture development, coating optimisation, and electrochemical performance testing as the partners continue exploring opportunities in the North American battery supply chain and support future commercial qualification for battery manufacturers in the region.

Particle Engineering Clears Gateway

C4V used its proprietary dry particle-engineering technology to process Alluminous HPA into material with the size distribution and morphology needed for separator coating applications.

Particle-size analysis found 90% of the milled material was below 3 microns and 10% was below 500 nanometres, meeting the thresholds required for separator coatings.

The process maintained the material’s purity throughout particle engineering, while also enabling the HPA to form sodium-free slurries without introducing contaminants that could affect advanced battery chemistries.

C4V confirmed the material had the alpha crystal form, adding another technical result to the completed particle-engineering phase.

Full Battery Validation Next

Alluminous is preparing additional HPA for battery architecture development, separator coating optimisation and electrochemical testing within lithium-ion cells.

The work will include manufacturing coated separator materials and benchmarking their performance against commercial separator materials.

This phase is intended to establish how the engineered material performs in complete battery systems and provide the technical basis for future customer qualification.

“These results are an outstanding achievement by the combined Alluminous and C4V technical teams,” Alluminous managing director David Leavy said.

“Over the past twelve months we have progressed from commissioning the pilot plant to achieving our first externally validated downstream application milestone.”

Commercial Pathway Taking Shape

The collaboration is broadening from initial technical assessment towards commercial engagement as Alluminous advances through the qualification process.

C4V will act as technical adviser during discussions with potential customers, using a test program designed to align closely with qualification processes across the lithium battery supply chain.

“As governments and manufacturers seek secure North American supply chains for critical battery materials, collaborations such as this provide an important pathway to future commercial opportunities,” Impact managing director Dr Mike Jones said.

“While important work remains as we enter battery validation, the progress achieved to date provides strong confidence in the commercial potential of the Alluminous technology,” Mr Leavy added.