Canada-based HPQ Silicon Resources, PyroGenesis Canada and the Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Centre (ETM) of the Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) have set up a research project focused on the development of silicon (Si)-based materials as active anode materials for Lithium-ion batteries.

With a budget of $500,000, the project is jointly funded by the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation via PRIMA Québec (40%), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (40%), HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. (10%) and PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (10%). The research project is directed by Professor Lionel Roué of the INRS.

HPQ and PyroGenesis will be responsible for the production of silicon materials from the PUREVAP Quartz Reduction Reactor (QRR) and the PUREVAP Nano Silicon Reactor (NSiR). The INRS-EMT will be responsible for the characterization of the materials and the optimization of the electrode formulations at laboratory scale.

Advances made in research on the use of silicon (Si) in Li-ion battery anodes indicate that by 2030, up to 30% of the active anode materials for Li-ion batteries used in electric vehicles could be silicon, according to Roskill. This increase, combined with the expected exponential growth in demand for electric vehicles, will create a very high demand for the battery-grade silicon (Si) that HPQ and PyroGenesis are developing, with an estimated market of more than 200,000 MT per year by 2030.

This research project, funded in large part by government grants, will provide us with independent validation of our silicon battery products, while providing us with us quick and comprehensive feedback on the potential of our materials. Since we will own the data we collect, it will be very useful when we present our products to a multitude of potential buyers.

HPQ’s Silicon R&D Consortium has the depth and flexibility to meet the challenges, as we strive to produce products for renewable energy storage participants and electric vehicle manufacturers, each of which is searching for cost-effective ways to increase the Silicon content of their batteries.

—Bernard Tourillon, President and CEO HPQ Silicon