Battery material maker sees successful trials to support new factory

A slated graphite manufacturing facility in Adelaide has taken a leap forward following successful testing of its processes to make lithium-ion battery grade materials.

Renascor Resources is developing a purified spherical graphite (PSG) manufacturing facility, which will transform graphite it mines in South Australia at its Siviour project, near Arno Bay, into materials that can be exported to lithium-ion battery makers around the world.

Ahead of the PSG demonstration facility’s construction in Bolivar, Renascor carried out equipment trials, building on its batch-scale testing, to see if the results matched at scales slated for its new battery anode material production factory.

Renascor said these latest trials produced lithium-ion battery grade graphite with results of up to 99.99% carbon, compared to anode industry standards of 99.95%.

David Christensen, Renascor’s managing director, said “this eco-friendly, hydrofluoric-free purification technology has the potential to deliver a globally competitive PSG operation and advance Renascor towards its goal of becoming a long-term producer of high-quality graphite products to the lithium-ion battery sector”.

“With these positive results from the recently completed equipment trials, we have achieved an important milestone in the delivery of our Australian government co-funded demonstration facility.”

These trials are helping to guide the construction of Renascor’s manufacturing facility, which is being supported in part by $5 million grant from the Australian government’s International Partnerships in Critical Minerals Program.

The company has begun engineering for the facility and said it is on schedule to commence commissioning of the demonstration plant early next year.