{australien_flagge}EcoGraf Limited (ASX: EGR, FRA: FMK) has reserved a 65,000 m² industrial site in Skellefteå, Sweden, as a potential location for a European RF-free EcoGraf™ battery anode material plant. The northern Swedish industrial town of Skellefteå is conveniently located on the Baltic coast. The fact that the battery company Northvolt is based in Skellefteå probably played a decisive role in the choice of location. In October 2017, Northvolt had decided to build a factory for the production of lithium-ion battery cells here. In June 2019, Volkswagen AG had participated in a joint venture with Northvolt AB. EcoGraf’s reserved site is diagonally across the street from the new Northvolt factory, as the satellite image shows.
Of the approximately 200 so-called mega-factories worldwide for building lithium-ion battery cells, 24 are currently planned in Europe. The challenge is to build regionalized supply chain centers for electric vehicles and batteries. EcoGraf’s strategy is to be present at these centers to offer tailored and customized solutions, said Andrew Spinks, MD of EcoGraf. By 2025, EcoGraf expects to develop a European battery anode material plant with a total production of 40,000 tons per year of high-quality, sustainably manufactured battery anode products. This would then be almost twice the size of the now fully financed plant in Western Australia, which is expected to bring it to a capacity of 25,000 tons per year.
The reservation agreement was concluded directly with the municipality of Skellefteå in the Västerbotten region. This region benefits from an abundant supply of clean, renewable energy with the lowest industrial electricity costs in Europe, a well-trained and skilled workforce, and a nearby port that provides access to key battery and industrial markets throughout Europe.
EcoGraf now intends to conduct a more detailed evaluation of the potential new development in Skellefteå. The industrial site is large enough to allow future expansion for higher production, further downstream value creation and battery anode recycling.
Figure 1: EcoGraf’s site has a strategic location on the outskirts of Skellefteå. Diagonally across the street, the smokestacks of Northvolt’s new lithium ion factory are steaming.
In parallel with the Sweden site, EcoGraf continues to look at other locations in Europe, including Germany, and is working closely with Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), the German economic development agency, to identify potential sites.
Development at a European site is expected to begin once the new Australian facility is successfully completed. This would allow the same technical design to be reused, saving planning costs.
Conclusion: EcoGraf has long had a European focus through its European off-take partners. By reserving an industrial site in northern Sweden, EcoGraf is sparking even more European imagination. EcoGraf has had its back since the battery anode plant in Kwinana, Australia, designed for a total of 25,000 tons per year, was fully financed. Kwinana is a long way from Europe. It is only logical to take production to where the nascent European battery industry is setting up its supply centers, for example in northern Sweden. It will be interesting to see when the final location decision is made. Perhaps it won’t stay with one location in Europe, because there will end up being several regionalized delivery centers in Europe. The magic word here is probably “customized solutions,” because it should not be forgotten that the battery companies are competing with each other. They will probably be very reluctant to share their know-how.
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