Altech forecasts surge in high purity alumina demand driven by lithium-ion batteries

Following its 3 June 2016 announcement regarding the strong interest shown in Altech Chemicals Limited as an emerging high purity alumina (HPA) producer during the 12th China International Battery Fair, the company has now presented its 10-year forecast of global demand for HPA used in the lithium-ion battery manufacturing sector.

The company has estimated that demand for HPA from lithium-ion battery manufacturers will grow significantly over the next decade from forecast usage of ~1,000tpa in 2016 to ~15,000tpa in 2025; this represents annual year on-year demand growth of approximately 30 per cent per year. In order to meet this demand, additional HPA production capacity equivalent to four (4) of Altech’s proposed 4,000tpa HPA plants in Malaysia would need to be constructed and commissioned during the forecast period, as illustrated in Figure 1 below.

The HPA demand forecast has been calculated based on lithium-ion battery manufacturing data recently published by Deutsche Bank. The data predicts annual global demand for lithium-ion batteries will rise from 70 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year in 2015 to 535GWh per year by 2025 (see Figure 2). The company has applied reported HPA usage per kilowatt-hour in lithium-ion battery separators (a vital battery component) to calculate forecast global HPA demand for the lithium-ion battery manufacturing sector.

HPA and lithium-ion batteries

The major application of HPA in lithium-ion batteries is as a coating on the ceramic separator sheet that divides the cathode and anode electrodes within the battery. HPA-coated separators withstand unusually high temperature incursions, increase battery separator shrinkage temperatures and reduce flammability during thermal runaways, and thus make lithium-ion batteries much safer.

American automotive company Tesla recently announced the 2018 launch of its lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility called “Gigafactory” in the USA.

Altech estimates that at its full production rate the Tesla Gigafactory will require around 2,020tpa of HPA for separator coatings, which is equivalent to half the output of the company’s proposed Malaysian HPA plant.

Altech managing director Mr Iggy Tan said, “HPA demand growth in the LED sector has long been acknowledged and understood; this growth is however now complemented by HPA demand growth in the lithium-ion battery industry, specifically from battery separator sheet manufacturers.”