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ATC - Altech Batteries

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The patent applications protect Altech’s process for covering anode materials such as silicon and graphite with nano-layer alumina coatings. The coatings serve as an artificial solid electrolyte interface (SEI), and can reduce lithium loss during each battery charge and discharge cycle, and also retards degradation of battery capacity throughout battery life.
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Highlights
• Patent protection for Silumina AnodesTM battery materials technology in place
• Australian provisional patent application originally filed on 13 May 2021
• Broaden filings to extend reach and protection
• National Patent filings in the United States, Europe, China, Japan and Korea
• International Patent filing covering up to 156 countries

Is there anything unique and ground-breaking in this? Probably not. The current SP of 4.8c is near the all-time low of 4.0c.
 
ATC commercialising 100 MWh Sodium Alumina Solid State (SAS) Batteries via a JV with German battery institute Fraunhofer IKTS.

Here's the blurb from ATC:

Altech believes that Sodium Alumina Solid State (SAS) CERENERGY® batteries are the game-changing grid storage alternative to lithium-ion batteries. CERENERGY® batteries are fire and explosion-proof, have a life span of more than 15 years and operate in extreme cold and desert climates. The battery technology uses table salt and nickel - is lithium-free; cobalt-free; graphite-free; and copper-free, eliminating exposure to critical metal price rises and supply chain concerns.
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Certainly sounds promising with lithium prices soaring. ATC currently up 21.24% to 9.7c

 
Dona Ferentes said:
Was just looking at it. Interesting!
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I don't know much about sodium alumina solid state batteries but I always suspected that a competitor to lithium would come along and give it a run for its money.

I would be interested in a side by side comparison of the two battery storage types.

Will do some research when I get the time.
 
Altech Chemicals Limited (ASX:ATC) CFO Martin Stein discusses the recent joint venture with Fraunhofer IKTS and the CERENERGY solid state sodium alumina battery.

Lauren Hayes: Today we are talking with Altech Chemicals (ASX:ATC), market cap of $157m. ATC is commercialising solid state sodium alumina batteries. We’re joined by CFO Martin Stein. Martin, it’s great to have Altech back in the studio.

Martin Stein: Thanks very much for having me, Lauren. It’s great to be here.

Lauren Hayes: Martin, for our viewers not familiar with Altech, could you please provide a background on the company?

Martin Stein: Sure. So, Altech is a battery materials technology and development company. We’ve got two main projects. The first project is the Silumina Anodes project, which is involving graphite and silicon-coating it with high-purity alumina. And we’re putting that into the anode section of a battery and we’re getting a 30 per cent increase in capacity compared to graphite only. And the second project that we’ve got is the solid state sodium alumina battery trademarked as CERENERGY.

Lauren Hayes: ATC made a significant announcement to the market recently. Can you shed some colour on this?

Martin Stein: The announcement was a very exciting joint venture with Fraunhofer IKTS, who’s based in Germany. Now, Fraunhofer have developed a sodium alumina solid state battery that doesn’t use any lithium, doesn’t use any graphite, it doesn’t use any cobalt and it doesn’t use any copper. It’s amazing. It relies on sodium alumina technology. So, we’re using salt in this product. Fraunhofer has developed this battery over the last eight years. They’ve spent 35 million euros on the process of developing it, and they’ve got it ready and they’ve tested it, and it’s ready for a commercialisation.

So, they approached Altech. We have land available in Germany on which to build a plant to commercialise this. They were looking for a company that had battery experience and also high-purity alumina experience, which is what the solid state ceramic electrolyte in the battery uses. So, the joint venture was formed. We announced that on 14 September 2022. And now we’re moving forward with a bankable feasibility study to commercialise the battery and build a 100 megawatt hour factory.

Lauren Hayes: And, Martin, can you tell us a little bit about your JV partner, Fraunhofer?

Martin Stein: Now, they’re a government-owned research and development institute, and they’re the leading institute for research into battery development and battery technology in the world. Fraunhofer is… they operate throughout Germany. They’ve got 76 research and development centres and institutes throughout Germany. They have a 25 million euro pilot plant facility that has produced these sodium and alumina solid state CERENERGY batteries. And that facility is available for testing and further work for the joint venture.

Fraunhofer has an annual research budget of 2.9 billion euros, and they’ve got about 30,000 employees that work for them throughout Germany, predominantly scientists and engineers. So, we’re talking about a government-owned institute. They’re very big hitters, very credible, and we’re just so excited that we’ve been able to team up with them in this joint venture to commercialise the CERENERGY battery that they’ve developed.

Lauren Hayes: And Martin, can you remind our viewers of what the advantages are of a sodium alumina battery as opposed to a lithium-ion battery?

Martin Stein: That’s a very good question. Look, these CERENERGY batteries have got a few advantages. The big one is cost. They’re going to be a lot cheaper to produce because we don’t use any of those expensive metals that the lithium-ion batteries use. We don’t use copper, we don’t use graphite, we don’t use lithium, and we don’t use cobalt, which is all used in lithium-ion batteries. Our technology uses solid state ceramic electrolyte and also sodium, common table salt. Which is in abundance, it’s readily available, there’s no supply chain issues and it’s cheap. They’re also going to be fireproof. They don’t have a liquid electrolyte like the lithium-ion batteries do, so they’re fireproof. Our batteries also operate in a much larger temperature range than the lithium-ion batteries. So, because of the viscosity issues with lithium, they’re actually only operating between 15 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius. If they fall outside of that range, the lithium doesn’t work properly and the batteries are reduced in their capacity. So, our CERENERGY solid state batteries can be used in temperature ranges from minus 40 degrees to up to 60 degrees. So, our batteries can be used in very, very hot climates in the desert as well as very, very cold climates. And also, lithium-ion batteries use a lot of cobalt and they use a lot of graphite. Now, cobalt has ethical issues in most of it being sourced… in fact, 70 per cent of the cobalt is sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Unfortunately, there’s child labour issues and other ethical issues, which is putting pressure on the supply of cobalt. And graphite. Graphite, 90 per cent of the world’s graphite comes from China, which poses a geopolitical risk and a social and environmental risk as well. So, lithium-ion batteries use those metals. We don’t rely on those metals. We don’t use them and we don’t have those supply chain or ethical issues in sourcing our materials. As I mentioned before, it’s sodium, it’s readily available, it’s cheap, and it’s in abundance.

Lauren Hayes: Martin, thanks so much for your time.
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- and it looks like it slices bread really well, too
 
On March 1st, 2023, Altech Chemicals Limited changed its name to Altech Batteries Limited.
 
greggles said:
I don't know much about sodium alumina solid state batteries but I always suspected that a competitor to lithium would come along and give it a run for its money.
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And getting some traction, of late
greggles said:
I would be interested in a side by side comparison of the two battery storage types.
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.
LAUNCH OF CERENERGY® 1.0 MWh GRIDPACK DESIGN FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY STORAGE MARKET

Highlights
• Launch of 1.0 megawatt-hour (MWh) GridPack design
• Non-Lithium Battery – Sodium Alumina Solid State
• Rated at 600 Volts DC and 100 Ah
• Specially designed for renewable energy and grid storage market
• Able to be safely installed outdoors in any weather conditions
• Sea container design, easy transportation by sea or road
• “Plug and play” site installation
• GridPacks are modular and stackable which reduces battery footprint
• Noiseless operation - ideal for noise-sensitive environments
• Low maintenance costs over battery life
 
Keeping with the theme:
"Redflow notes its announcement on 28 March 2023 which it considers positive news. The Company also notes an article in the Australian Financial Review published online on 30 March 2023 which reported on the Federal Government’s desire to establish a battery manufacturing industry in Australia, the Company’s view that this would require strong government assistance and that the Company would consider setting up a battery factory in Australia if Australian governments stepped up funding for battery projects, prioritised Australian-made batteries in the power grid and simplified the approval process."

.... so that's 4 listed entities at various points of development, but not necessarily in Australia
  • Altech ATC with Sodium Alumina Solid State batteries in production in Germany
  • Reflow RFX making zinc bromine flow batteries in Chonburi, Thailand
  • Magnis MNS with the iM3NY New York Lithium-ion Battery Plant based in Endicott, New York
  • Australian Vanadium AVL developing a vanadium redox flow battery through subsidiary VSUN Energy.
 
Dona Ferentes said:
And getting some traction, of late

.
LAUNCH OF CERENERGY® 1.0 MWh GRIDPACK DESIGN FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY STORAGE MARKET

Highlights
• Launch of 1.0 megawatt-hour (MWh) GridPack design
• Non-Lithium Battery – Sodium Alumina Solid State
• Rated at 600 Volts DC and 100 Ah
• Specially designed for renewable energy and grid storage market
• Able to be safely installed outdoors in any weather conditions
• Sea container design, easy transportation by sea or road
• “Plug and play” site installation
• GridPacks are modular and stackable which reduces battery footprint
• Noiseless operation - ideal for noise-sensitive environments
• Low maintenance costs over battery life
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since i will be interested in static energy storage in the foreseeable future this ticks several boxes

one ( probably dangerous ) assumption *** • Able to be safely installed outdoors in any weather conditions *** implies superior tolerance to extreme temperatures/weather ( rather than drop it off the tilt-tray/container transport , easy delivery )

*** • Noiseless operation - ideal for noise-sensitive environments *** implies no moving parts ( possibly another bold assumption )

the eye-catcher for me is the Sodium Alumina part , that might give room for some speculation on Bauxite producers , or a tailwind for AWC


cheers
 
Dona Ferentes said:
Keeping with the theme:
"Redflow notes its announcement on 28 March 2023 which it considers positive news. The Company also notes an article in the Australian Financial Review published online on 30 March 2023 which reported on the Federal Government’s desire to establish a battery manufacturing industry in Australia, the Company’s view that this would require strong government assistance and that the Company would consider setting up a battery factory in Australia if Australian governments stepped up funding for battery projects, prioritised Australian-made batteries in the power grid and simplified the approval process."

.... so that's 4 listed entities at various points of development, but not necessarily in Australia
  • Altech ATC with Sodium Alumina Solid State batteries in production in Germany
  • Reflow RFX making zinc bromine flow batteries in Chonburi, Thailand
  • Magnis MNS with the iM3NY New York Lithium-ion Battery Plant based in Endicott, New York
  • Australian Vanadium AVL developing a vanadium redox flow battery through subsidiary VSUN Energy.
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Looks interesting Dona. Watched the RIU presentation. Looks like a goer on a small scale with their 60Kw tester. Question is can they scale it up to the 100Mw version and then to a Gw version. I wonder how big that system becomes? A few ISOs, or a hundred ISO container sizes? If it can be scaled up it's going to potentially put lithium out of business for grid scale power.

 
Sean K said:
Looks interesting Dona. Watched the RIU presentation. Looks like a goer on a small scale with their 60Kw tester. Question is can they scale it up to the 100Mw version and then to a Gw version. I wonder how big that system becomes? A few ISOs, or a hundred ISO container sizes? If it can be scaled up it's going to potentially put lithium out of business for grid scale power.

Click to expand...

would have been happier if the first bit didn't spend time kicking the main rival in the shins ( as a stock market investor some of that was useful , not so useful as a potential customer )

molten sodium in the batteries ( at times ) hints the batteries should be clear of falling objects ( like trees and wind turbines )

if accurate the battery operating range is nicely useful ( for where i want to use it ) however the animated design suggests it should be situated in a water-proof area ( above flooding and protected from rain/snow and dense fog )

module system might or might not be a good feature ( can it function without modification ) if a module fails , will be in a remote area cannot expect replacement modules within 3 days

certainly worth further research ( as a potential customer ) the freight from Germany will be nasty , so might have to wait for regional manufacture

as a stock ... hmmm a R&D play in Germany 5 years back the ink would be drying on the check , am much more cautious now

( remember my fingers are still smoldering from RFX )

i might re-consider increasing my alumina exposure since i reduced S32 on Friday

cheers

Is Sodium Flammable?

firefighterinsider.com firefighterinsider.com
 
For those who like their talking head along with the slides:

Altech Batteries Limited (ASX: ATC and FRA: A3Y) is pleased to provide a YouTube link of its CEO’s, Mr Iggy Tan, investor presentation at the inaugural Future Facing Commodities Conference, held in Singapore on 4-6 April 2023.

Shareholders of the Company are invited to watch the presentation on the link below.
 
Quarterly out, and ATC went on a bit of volume up to 11c ahead of release. Will it sustain the lift (and help me in April comp tip)?

Have $7.3 mill in kitty, but likely to have increased outlays on various projects this Q.

Dec 2020; Altech sold 25% of its German subsidiary AIG for A$8 million (€5.0 million) to Altech Advanced Materials AG, with ATC retaining ownership of the remaining 75%. The Initial Cash Consideration of A$0.4 million (€0.25 million) was received upon the signing of the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement in December 2020, with Deferred Consideration amounting to A$7.6 million (€4.75 million), payable in three equal instalments of A$2.5 million (€1.58 million). Altech has now received the first two instalments with the final instalment of A$2.5 million (€1.58 million) due in December 2023.
 
An interesting update on ATC just appeared on the Market Index Site.
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For the full article try the Market Index site.
 
BINGO !!! ......
ATC just hit $0.75c - so far so good....
20230718 ATC Cht.png

It arrived a week earlier than I calculated - there's that Timing Thing Again - its easy to get the $$ Call Correct, but the Timing any $$ Call is very difficult - Need someont to invent a "Sheep Indicator"....
 

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In relation to the shortfall for the Company’s pro-rata non-renounceable entitlement offer, pursuant to the Prospectus dated 18 July 2023, Altech has received binding commitments for the shortfall shares, raising gross additional funds of $2,538,000.

Altech has received binding commitments from major German shareholder Deutsche Balaton Aktiengesellschaft, as well as from 180 Markets Pty Ltd, for a total of 36,257,139 shares at $0.07 per share. Shares will be issued to sophisticated and professional investor clients of 180 Markets Pty Ltd. Subject to the funds being received, Altech intends to issue all shares on Wednesday 16 August 2023.

Chief Financial Officer Mr Martin Stein stated “Altech is pleased with the support for the shortfall. The Company received a great deal of interest from investors to participate. Total proceeds have now been raised of $15,838,208, including $3,000,000 from the recent placement, as well as the allocation of $12,838,208 from the Entitlement Offer and shortfall.

“There has been a great deal ofinterest from the market in the CERENERGY® and Silumina AnodesTM battery projects. We believe that the market is becoming more aware of the enormous potential upside to these projects, as well as the ability and reputation of world leading German government research and development institute Fraunhofer, Altech’s joint venture partner in the CERENERGY® battery project.

“In a recent August 2023 report released by McKinsey & Company, the report states that battery energy storage system capacity is likely to quintuple between now and 2030 and states that the battery energy storage system market is expected to grow from $44-$55 billion in 2023, to $120-$150 billion in 2030. Altech is racing to bring its sodium-chloride solid state CERENERGY® battery project to market, and is extremely excited by the potential of this product”.
 
DrBourse said:
BINGO !!! ......
ATC just hit $0.75c - so far so good....
View attachment 159714
It arrived a week earlier than I calculated - there's that Timing Thing Again - its easy to get the $$ Call Correct, but the Timing any $$ Call is very difficult - Need someont to invent a "Sheep Indicator"....
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ATC is approaching point "F" as predicted back on 18/7/23 - Point "?" may prove to be a step too far - time will tell.....
20230829 ATC Cht.png
 
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