Altech locks in German EV battery lab to test patent silicon-graphite coatings

Altech Chemicals’ (ASX:ATC) share price is up 7% in morning trades as it locks in German EV battery experts Fraunhofer IKTS to test Altech’s silicon-graphite coatings in Saxony. 

Production is expected in the near future, with construction of the pilot plant going live this year. Altech will work alongside German industrial plant engineers Küttner to develop the pilot facility.

All in all, the asset will be capable of producing 120kg per day of Altech’s flagship Silumina Anodes product. 

Altech intends to construct a far larger 10,000tpa facility in Saxony, allowing Altech unrivalled access to European EV supply chains in the EU's largest economy.

Altech's Uwe Ahrens and Iggy Tan flank IKTS professor Alexander Micahelis at the latter's Dresden lab

What is Silumina Anodes? 

The company is expediting its quest to make an affordable graphite-silicon coating product for widespread use in the high-sale European EV market. 

The big takeaway: more powerful, longer-lasting batteries. 

Altech, a chemicals specialist, has figured out a way to use silicon to boost EV performance. 

The Silumina product is itself a heavy-duty aluminium and silicon-based coating applied to lithium-ion anodes, conductive components inside EV batteries.

The product sees Altech drawing on its expertise in aluminium metallurgy to bring down costs and ramp up overall vehicle efficiency. 

What will IKTS be testing? 

Specifically, Fraunhofer IKTS will probe the durability of Altech’s coating to get an idea of long-term performance. 

IKTS is a leading materials and research expert when it comes to lithium-ion batteries, and helpfully, has a laboratory in Saxony, right where Altech’s pilot plant is going up. 

There’s a good chance they’ll be proud to see it when Altech’s larger 10,000tpa facility overshadows the 120kg per day pilot plant.

Altech was a Market Index client at the time of publishing. All coverage contains factual information only and should not be interpreted as opinion of financial advice.