NOVONIX Limited, a battery materials and technology company, announced that Hatch Ltd., a global engineering consultancy firm, has delivered its report that evaluates NOVONIX’s all-dry, zero-waste cathode synthesis process. Hatch was commissioned to conduct a commercial-scale capital and operating cost comparison study, as well as a high-level evaluation of plant emissions and impacts to natural resources between NOVONIX’s patent-pending process and the conventional wet process.

Source: NOVONIX

NOVONIX’s cathode synthesis process was built upon Dry Particle Microgranulation, which requires fewer steps than the conventional process, while producing no sodium sulfate, reducing facility cooling water by an estimated 65% and eliminating the water needed for core materials processing.

The Hatch study found that NOVONIX’s process may potentially reduce power consumption by an estimated 25% and practically eliminate waste byproduct generation over the conventional process.

These factors contributed to a potential processing cost reduction of an estimated 50% (excluding material feedstock costs) and potentially lower capital costs by an estimated 30%.

Based on the scoping study comparing the two processes, NOVONIX’s process is estimated to consume fewer natural resources, likely requiring essentially no reagents and generating fewer waste streams, and, as a result, is likely a more environmentally friendly and sustainable process than the conventional process.

NOVONIX recently announced the commissioning of its 10 tonne per annum cathode pilot line in July 2023 and shared that their cathode material matches the performance of leading cathode materials from existing suppliers in full-cell testing.

The company plans to use its pilot line to continue to strengthen its intellectual property portfolio and further demonstrate to potential customers the manufacturability of its long-life cathode materials and technology, including high-nickel and cobalt-free materials, along with their performance in industrial format lithium-ion cells.

As the company continues to advance its commercial engagements it is considering a pre-feasibility study to further advance the engineering and scale-up options for NOVONIX’s all-dry, zero-waste cathode technology.