Disruptive Potential Emphasized Once Again
Shortly before the commissioning of its 25,000 tpa product qualification facility in Perth, EcoGraf (ASX: EGR; FSE: FMK; OTCQB: ECGFF) has once again secured independent confirmation that its HFfree™ purification process for anode Graphite for Li-ion batteries is also economically competitive compared to established purification methods.
The globally active engineering and construction consulting firm commissioned by EcoGraf was tasked with modeling the capital and operating costs and associated risks for a facility in the United States (USA). The study concludes that the HFfree™ process offers clear cost advantages compared to other purification methods. The operational costs are lower than all other competitors (see Figure 1). Additionally, the production generates only minimal hazardous waste. The waste streams predominantly consist of benign or inert residues. The study further confirms that the process can be scalably deployed in battery manufacturing centers.
For calculating capital intensity, the engineers based their calculations on a production capacity of 25,000 tons per year, which corresponds to the size of the facility EcoGraf has designed and built for its planned first commercial plant. EcoGraf considers the results of the benchmarking study extremely encouraging as they confirm the efficiency of the patented, proprietary purification process in the USA and build on the recent excellent technical results of the company’s own EcoGraf HFfree™ purification, which achieves ultra-high purity carbon of 4N 99.99%.
The company announces that it will shortly provide an update on the progress of commissioning its own product qualification facility. For confidentiality reasons, EcoGraf deliberately refrains from publishing images of the facility at the present time.
Conclusion: The results of the independent study once again confirm the disruptive potential of EcoGraf’s HFfree™ purification process. If the USA or Europe are truly serious about becoming somewhat independent from Chinese battery raw material supplies, from an economic and environmental perspective, there is really no way around this new technology for processing anode graphite. Facilities with a capacity of 25,000 tons of battery graphite per year may seem tiny in the face of Chinese overcapacity in this area. However, they are not fighting a losing battle, but on the contrary, have the potential to be a real game changer for the industry.
