ATC - Altech Chemicals Ltd (ATC.AX) Update of CERENERGY Battery Project
On 14 September 2022, Altech executed a Joint Venture Shareholders' Agreement with the world-leading German battery institute Fraunhofer to commercialise Fraunhofer's revolutionary CERENERGY(R) Sodium Alumina Solid State (SAS) battery. On 26 October 2022, Altech appointed leading German company Leadec Automation & Engineering GmbH (Leadec) as the lead engineer for the Definitive Feasibility Study in relation to its CERENERGY(R) 100MWh battery project. On 7 November 2022, Altech announced that it had designed and launched the CERENERGY(R) SAS 60 KWh battery pack (ABS60) designed for the renewable energy and grid storage market.
Since then, there has been outstanding progress and advancement of the CERENERGY(R) project.
During this period, two critical expert workshops were held on 13-14 October 2022 and 8 December 2022, at Altech's site in Schwarze Pumpe, Germany. The workshops were attended by Altech personnel, Leadec's process and automation engineering team, and the Fraunhofer CERENERGY(R) expert battery team. The workshops were headed and led by Managing Director Iggy Tan with the objective to bring forward detailed design requirements as well as efficient industrial production plant design. The team was able to finalise the design basis for the 100MWh battery with the production of the 60-kilowatt hour (KWh) ABS60 battery packs amounting to 1,666 packs per annum. The Fraunhofer experts have been involved in technical information transfer so as to ensure an optimal production process and progressing thermal modelling of the 60 KWh ABS60 battery packs to optimise the battery pack casing design and battery management systems.
Leadec, the lead engineering company, is currently developing technical specifications for potential suppliers to quote on. A preliminary layout of the battery plant has been completed. Major milestones have been achieved in a very short period of time.
As part of the workshops, potential equipment suppliers recommended by Fraunhofer were invited to present their proposals in terms of technical capabilities, cost and timelines. The key equipment suppliers have now been finalised and are being integrated to work closely with the various project teams. During the period, Altech also appointed ARIKON Infrastruktur GmbH (Arikon) to manage the approval process, site infrastructure requirements, and balance of plant for the CERENERGY(R) SAS battery facility. Arikon will be responsible for managing the application process and working with relevant regulatory bodies to obtain all necessary approvals for the project. This includes securing necessary permits and licenses, coordinating with local authorities and arranging utility connections. Additionally, Arikon will be responsible for designing the site infrastructure requirements for the site.
On the marketing front, Altech's business development team is communicating with potential customers that have expressed interest in the supply of CERENERGY(R) batteries and the technology. This includes a leading German energy producer that has expressed an imminent requirement to secure energy storage solutions. As the world transitions from a fossil fuel economy to a sustainable energy economy, scale and ramp up of battery storage solutions are required. Altech is aiming to secure off-take interest as part of the DFS as support for funding the project.
On the finance front, Altech is exploring various grant schemes within Germany at state and federal level as well as the EU, to support financing the project. Altech has also held discussions with leading European banks in preparation for the funding stage.
Managing Director Iggy Tan was extremely pleased with the progress of the CERENERGY(R) Battery Project and stated "We have moved very quickly on the opportunity and managed to close the joint venture Agreement with Fraunhofer and incorporated two companies in just two months, with one month being the August holidays in Germany. Since that time, we have raced to get the project moving with several commencement workshops. We have also appointed key engineering companies like Leadec and Arikon.
We have also launched the design for the 60 KWh battery pack for the renewable energy storage sector.
To date, all plant and equipment suppliers have been selected. On the marketing front, the team have been having discussions with potential interested off take parties. I am very pleased with the team we have assembled, and the outstanding progress made thus far".
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About Altech Chemicals Ltd:
Altech Chemicals Limited (ASX:ATC) (FRA:A3Y) is aiming to become one of the world's leading suppliers of 99.99% (4N) high purity alumina (Al2O3) through the construction and operation of a 4,500tpa high purity alumina (HPA) processing plant at Johor, Malaysia. Feedstock for the plant will be sourced from the Company's 100%-owned kaolin deposit at Meckering, Western Australia and shipped to Malaysia.
HPA is a high-value, high margin and highly demanded product as it is the critical ingredient required for the production of synthetic sapphire. Synthetic sapphire is used in the manufacture of substrates for LED lights, semiconductor wafers used in the electronics industry, and scratch-resistant sapphire glass used for wristwatch faces, optical windows and smartphone components. Increasingly HPA is used by lithium-ion battery manufacturers as the coating on the battery's separator, which improves performance, longevity and safety of the battery. With global HPA demand approximately 19,000t (2018), it is estimated that this demand will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% (2018-2028); by 2028 HPA market demand will be approximately 272,000t, driven by the increasing adoption of LEDs worldwide as well as the demand for HPA by lithium-ion battery manufacturers to serve the surging electric vehicle market.
Source:
Altech Chemicals Ltd
Contact:
Corporate
Iggy Tan
Managing Director
Altech Chemicals Limited
Tel: +61-8-6168-1555
Email: info@altechchemicals.com
Martin Stein
Chief Financial Officer
Altech Chemicals Limited
Tel: +61-8-6168-1555
Email: info@altechchemicals.com