Australian innovator Altech Chemicals Ltd. announced yesterday that it has begun battery performance testing of graphite particles coated with high-purity alumina via the company’s proprietary coating technology.
Per the firm, the process applies a uniform layer of high-purity alumina approximately 2 nm thick onto graphite particles that are in turn used as anodes in batteries. Altech says uniformity in the process is crucial, as it will help improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries.
The test produced a sufficient quantity of coated graphite to begin testing in lithium-ion batteries, which Altech has already begun.
Altech notes that the initial tests are crucial in showing the industry what improvements in performance an anode coated with high-purity alumina can offer. The firm will release test results as they become available, and they plan more testing upon completion of the current round of tests.
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.