Australian innovator Altech Chemicals Ltd. announced yesterday the completion of the first phase of battery performance testing of graphite particles coated with its high-purity alumina (HPA) via its proprietary coating technology.
Altech says the tests involved a control group of uncoated standard anode-grade graphite particles and a separate group of graphite particles coated with HPA. The firm said the test results were promising after they examined both the control set and the HPA-coated set upon completing one hundred cell charging cycles.
The next stage of testing will involve additional runs of charging and discharging, explains the firm. The objective in that stage will be to examine repeatability and consistency of the HPA-coated graphite particles.
Yesterday’s announcement comes three-and-a-half months after Altech announced a successful demonstration of its alumina-coating technology. The firm says the process holds great promise for lithium-ion batteries, as a consistent and uniform layer of alumina on anode-grade graphite particles improves the performance of such batteries.
Altech’s General Manager Operations and chief scientist Dr. Jingyuan Liu said in a press release that the initial testing results were very encouraging.
“We now have to optimise the testing conditions and conduct additional tests to demonstrate repeatability and consistency. The performance of the alumina coated graphite is meeting our expectations so far.”
Altech Chemicals is based in Subiaco, Western Australia and is attempting to implement a marketable process for delivering 99.99% (4N) HPA using conventional equipment at a lower production cost than methods currently available. It plans to construct a 4,500 metric ton per annum HPA plant at Tanjung Langsat Industrial Complex, Johor, Malaysia that will use kaolin clay from a company-owned mine in Meckering, Western Australia. The firm is fast-tracking HPA production due to an agreement with Mitsubishi for 100% of its proposed HPA production for ten years.