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Elkem said on Wednesday that it has chosen Herøya Industrial Park as the site for a potential large-scale plant for battery graphite production in Norway.
The project, named Northern Recharge, aims to supply the fast-growing battery industry through a competitive production process and make batteries greener with lower CO2 emissions.
Based on conclusions from the pilot, Elkem said it will evaluate the basis for competitive industrial production with its Northern Recharge project.
The project has now settled for the Herøya Industrial Park, one of the biggest industrial parks in Norway, as the site for a potential large-scale
plant.
“The production of battery materials represents one of Elkem’s biggest growth opportunities. The demand for batteries is surging, as a result of the rapid growth of electrification in transport and increasing need for energy storage in a sustainable future.
“This requires new production
capacity for battery materials, and we see significant opportunities for
a specialised product with a green footprint,” Elkem CEO,
Michael Koenig, said.
Graphite is the leading anode material in lithium-ion battery cells and demand is expected to increase more than ten times from today’s level to 2030.
Elkem’s Northern Recharge project aims to take a competitive position in this market, contribute to a strong European battery industry and build new Norwegian export industry based on renewable hydropower.
“It is a pleasure to announce that we have selected Herøya
Industrial Park as the site for our Northern Recharge project.
“This enables us to build a highly cost-effective plant with good access to renewable energy, potentially lowering CO2 emissions by 90 percent compared to alternatives based on fossil energy.
“We also secure close proximity to our pilot plant and internationally leading research environments within material technology,” vice president for Elkem Battery Materials, Stian Madshus, said.
Elkem will progress the project towards a planned final investment
decision in 2021. A large-scale plant can potentially create new, green
industry jobs in Norway as well as positive ripple effects. Elkem will
invite industrial and financial partners to participate in the project.
A positive investment decision requires competitive public support
mechanisms and supportive government policies. Elkem presented the Northern Recharge project in Oslo Wednesday at the launch of the report
“Green electrical value chains as an export opportunity” chaired by
Arvid Moss, president of The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO).
“Elkem’s Northern Recharge project demonstrates the vast potential we
have in Norway to take key positions in the battery value chain.
However, other countries are also positioning to attract green
investments.
“For Norway to realise our potential, we need to see
public-private partnerships, public support mechanisms and supportive policies developing with sufficient speed and scale, enabling us to win in this global competition,” Moss said.
Rechargeable batteries are used in a wide range of applications, from
consumer electronics to electric vehicles and battery storage power
stations. Graphite, as anode material, typically represents around 10 per cent of the battery weight.
In addition to the supply of battery materials, Elkem is a supplier of advanced silicone solutions for
battery packs, protection of electronics and cable protection.
