HPA producer Altech signs final agreement for battery plant construction

Altech Chemicals has signed an agreement of contract with the German developer Kuttner GmbH aiming to constitute high purity alumina or ‘HPA’ coating pilot plant in Saxony, a German state. The glazing method by the company utilises graphite and silicone particles to condition anode materials, ultimately booming the tolerance of lithium-ion batteries.

Arrangements leading to the erection of the plant have already paced up with the claims of the company acquiring long-lead items beforehand.

The pilot plant would be capable of producing 120 kg of Silumina Anodes battery coating material per day. Various Europe-bound vehicle-makers and battery manufacturers would receive supplies from the Australian firm Altech Chemicals.

Headquartered in Perth, Altech is the propagator of the term ‘Silumina Anodes’ and claims the unit could supply battery anode materials with a higher retention capacity of over 30 per cent than non-coated items. Silumina is a blend of aluminium alloy and silica with only 3 to 25 per cent silicon content. The material is used heavily in the EV market, mainly as a component for lithium-ion battery production.

Nearby Altech’s land in the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park, Saxony, there is a leased warehouse, from where the pilot plant will steer its operations through Dock 3.

The above-mentioned fourteen-acre site is located on the Eastern border of Germany and is very crucial in the building of a paramount automotive development zone, with BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, Porsche and Tesla already securing showrooms in the circle. Most essentially, the hub will also host an infinite number of high-profile lithium-ion battery organisations providing access to more HPA developers and producers.

Altech is well equipped to finance the entire operation. The company’s quarter one report till March projected healthy cash stock of US$11.571 million, while the new plant is supposed to have a construction cost of US$7.177 million.

The company currently accomplished a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) for the high-purity alumina (HPA) coating plant, quoting a capital investment of US$95 million to accumulate a calculated pre-tax net present value of US$507 million.

The PFS confirmed that the plant activated once would yield net cash flow amounting to US$63 million per year yet considering the smooth 40 per cent internal rate of return, the initial investment would be recovered in three years or more. 

If the plant utilises its total capacity, the numbers could be increased to US$185 million annually.

With wishful thinking, Altech Chemical has constructed its pilot plant amidst the European lithium-ion battery sector. The rising demand for electric vehicles is sure to instigate the plant’s growth with machinery operating on full scale to keep up with the progressive world.