Novonix secures $150m grant from DOE for synthetic graphite production

Novonix Limited has been selected for a $150 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to expand the production of synthetic graphite in the US.

The Australian battery materials and technology company in this connection will participate in negotiations with the DOE through its anode materials unit located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The negotiations will be for finalizing conditions such as operational milestones as well as the timing and schedule of releasing payments under the grant.

The grant is expected to help Novonix to increase its synthetic graphite production in the US to 40,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) in 2025 and 150,000tpa by 2030 through its proprietary process technology.

Specifically, Novonix will use the funding for the construction of the synthetic graphite manufacturing facility with an initial capacity of 30,000 tonnes per annum.

Novonix secures $150m grant from DOE for synthetic graphite production. Photo courtesy of US Department of Energy/Wikipedia.org.

Dr. Chris Burns — Novonix Co-Founder and CEO said: “We are proud to have been selected to negotiate this funding in recognition of our readiness to accelerate the domestic battery supply chain and meet growing global demand from the electric vehicle and stationary grid storage markets.

“Since inception, our mission has been to enhance batteries through innovation and pave the way for the clean energy transformation.

“We are excited to partner with the DOE to further our mission of establishing a domestic supply chain for synthetic graphite used in lithium-based batteries and creating long-term sustainable value for our stakeholders.”

The funding announced by the DOE is the first phase of more than $7 billion in total from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for supporting the domestic battery supply chain.