Echion & CBMM partner to build 2000 t/year manufacturing capacity for anode grade niobium oxides
Rogério Marques Ribas, Head of Battery Products, CBMM, Alex Amorim, CFO, CBMM, Ricardo Fonseca de Mendonça Lima, CEO, CBMM, John Halfpenny, Executive Chairman, Echion Technologies, Jean de La Verpilliere, CEO, Echion Technologies, Rodolfo Forti, Financial Manager, CBMM, Rodrigo Amado, Head of Strategy and New Business, CBMM
Battery materials innovators, Echion Technologies (Echion) and the world’s leading supplier of Niobium products and technology, CBMM have announced a multi-year manufacturing partnership. The partnership will see the construction of a new 2000 tonne per year facility in Araxá, Brazil, to supply, at scale, niobium oxides anode grade to be applied in Echion´s safe, fast-charging and long-life XNO® battery anode material.
The facility; due to open in early 2024, will have the capacity to supply material equivalent to 1GWh of battery cell production. This positions Echion as the first in the market to guarantee the commercial supply of niobium-based battery anode oxides and will allow it to meet the large and growing demand for industrial electrification applications.
Echion’s niobium-based anode material, XNO® delivers lithium-ion battery performance highly suited for industrial, commercial and high value applications that demand the highest up-time, lowest total cost of ownership and highest performance. XNO® enables lithium-ion batteries that can safely charge in less than 10 minutes, maintain high energy densities even at low temperatures, and deliver high power across a cycle life of more than 10,000 cycles. Applications powered by XNO® include battery electric and hybrid trains, mining haul trucks, high-demand buses and delivery vehicles as well as applications in motorsport and space.
The Echion – CBMM manufacturing partnership means that cell manufacturers and OEMs can be assured of prompt availability of large-scale, high-quality supplies of anode active material as they electrify their products.
Jean de La Verpilliere, CEO of Echion, said: ‘We are very pleased to announce the signing of the manufacturing deal with our partners CBMM. It signifies the next step in our longstanding relationship with CBMM and will allow us to serve the huge global demand for our fast charging, cost effective and safe battery anode materials. The strategic partnership between Echion and CBMM will make a significant impact on building a sustainable and efficient electric future.”
With a strategy of having 25% of its revenue coming from non-steel products by 2030, CBMM will invest US$ 80 million in the expansion of its entire Niobium oxides production line, which will include this new facility. The investment will allow total production of 3,000 tonnes of Niobium oxide battery grade in 2024 for applications in the lithium-ion battery segment for high-power, long-life, safer, and ultra-fast charging technologies following the global mega trend of electrification. This investment is in line with CBMM strategic growth plan to reach 40,000 tonnes of Niobium oxide capacity in 2030.
Rogério Marques Ribas, Head of Battery Products at CBMM, said: “In 2021 CBMM has invested in Echion through our New Businesses area, and this new partnership is aligned with the company’s strategic growth plan, which has the Battery Program as one of the pillars for business diversification following the global megatrend of electrification. We are proud with the validation of the Niobium technology as a solution to the challenges posed by this industry and that we are taking another step in the supply chain, approaching the moment when we will have large-scale products available on the market.”