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Released February 28, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Batteries, particularly the rechargeable kind, have become virtually ubiquitous in U.S. life. Batteries power our phones, electric vehicles (EVs), laptops and a host of other devices. As demand for batteries increases, it also tightens supplies for the materials used in making them, such as anode and cathode materials. The U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry is keeping up with this demand in the form of billions of dollars' worth of spending on projects to manufacture battery materials for anodes and cathodes.
Anodes and cathodes are the metallic electrodes of batteries. An anode loses electrons during discharge, while a cathode gains them. An anode is the positive element during discharge, while the cathode is the negative electrode. Cathodes are the positive electrode during charging, while the anodes are negative. Cathodes and anodes are formed from various materials, including graphite and lithium for anodes, and most commonly in rechargeable batteries, lithium, iron and phosphate for cathodes, as well as a lithium-cobalt-oxide (LCO) combination.
U.S. projects for cathode materials greatly outnumber those designated for anodes. Among the largest cathode-materials projects in the U.S. is LG Corporation's (Seoul, South Korea) grassroot plant being built in Clarksville, Tennessee, which will be the largest such plant in the U.S., according to the company. LG chose the Clarksville location in part because of its proximity to a strong customer base. The plant will supply Ultium Cells LLC's (an LG joint venture) recently completed EV battery-manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, about 80 miles south of Clarksville.
Another potential customer is gearing up for battery production in Clarksville itself. Microvast Incorporated (Stafford, Texas) is putting the finishing touches on a renovation and expansion project at a brownfield manufacturing site that is expected to be completed in the coming months.
LG's cathode materials plant is expected to begin operating in 2025, when it will begin ramping up to production of 60,000 tons per year of cathode materials. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the reports on the LG and Microvast projects.
Coming in at more than $3 billion in total investment, LG's Clarksville project is easily the largest U.S. project for cathode materials, but another $1 billion+ project is in the process of kicking off in Ridgeville, South Carolina, that will manufacture both anode and cathode components. Redwood Materials Incorporated (Carson City, Nevada) recycles end-of-life batteries and strips them down to basic metals such as cobalt, lithium, copper and nickel, and then uses these materials to rebuild them into cathode and anode products. Like its operating plant in Nevada, Redwood's South Carolina plant will have 100% electric operations, not using any fossil fuel. Redwood's aim from its Nevada and South Carolina facilities is to be able to supply materials for up to 1 million vehicles annually by 2025, when the Ridgeville plant is expected to be completed, and for up to 5 million vehicles per year by 2030. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
EV manufacturer Tesla Incorporated (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas) is supporting its gigafactory in Austin, Texas, with a nearby cathode-materials plant, which broke ground in 2022 and is expected to be completed this summer. The cathode materials will be used in Tesla's Austin factory to produce model 4680 cylindrical battery cells, which are supposed to reduce battery costs by up to 50% due to improvements and innovations in battery design and production. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
In battery anodes, silicon can hold 10 times as many lithium ions by weight as graphite; however, technical challenges, such as the expansion of the anode when loaded with ions, have hindered its practical applications in battery production. That's changing as technology evolves, and these problems have been significantly overcome, causing early moves into large-scale silicon-based anode production. Since 2022, NanoGraf Corporation (Chicago, Illinois) has been at work establishing a manufacturing plant for silicon anode battery materials at a brownfield site in Chicago. Initial construction includes 17,000 square feet of production space with 2,500 square feet for research and development, as well as additional construction for office space. The facility is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will initially produce 35 tons per year of anode materials before ramping up to 1,000 tons per year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Despite the growing use of silicon in anodes, the U.S. still has projects for more common graphite-based anode materials. Syrah Resources Limited currently is putting the finishing touches on a graphite-based anode materials plant in Vidalia, Louisiana. The project is the scaling up of an existing pilot-scale plant that produces about 5,000 tons per year of graphite materials. The current project adds 180,000 additional square feet to the plant and will bring production up to 11,250 tons per year of anode material. But Syrah might not stop there. The company expects the anode market to continue growing and has plans to scale the plant further to produce up to 45,000 tons per year, although this level of production would be a few years in coming. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the initial commercial scale-up of the plant and the subsequent planned expansion.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here to see the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
Anodes and cathodes are the metallic electrodes of batteries. An anode loses electrons during discharge, while a cathode gains them. An anode is the positive element during discharge, while the cathode is the negative electrode. Cathodes are the positive electrode during charging, while the anodes are negative. Cathodes and anodes are formed from various materials, including graphite and lithium for anodes, and most commonly in rechargeable batteries, lithium, iron and phosphate for cathodes, as well as a lithium-cobalt-oxide (LCO) combination.
U.S. projects for cathode materials greatly outnumber those designated for anodes. Among the largest cathode-materials projects in the U.S. is LG Corporation's (Seoul, South Korea) grassroot plant being built in Clarksville, Tennessee, which will be the largest such plant in the U.S., according to the company. LG chose the Clarksville location in part because of its proximity to a strong customer base. The plant will supply Ultium Cells LLC's (an LG joint venture) recently completed EV battery-manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, about 80 miles south of Clarksville.
Another potential customer is gearing up for battery production in Clarksville itself. Microvast Incorporated (Stafford, Texas) is putting the finishing touches on a renovation and expansion project at a brownfield manufacturing site that is expected to be completed in the coming months.
LG's cathode materials plant is expected to begin operating in 2025, when it will begin ramping up to production of 60,000 tons per year of cathode materials. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the reports on the LG and Microvast projects.
Coming in at more than $3 billion in total investment, LG's Clarksville project is easily the largest U.S. project for cathode materials, but another $1 billion+ project is in the process of kicking off in Ridgeville, South Carolina, that will manufacture both anode and cathode components. Redwood Materials Incorporated (Carson City, Nevada) recycles end-of-life batteries and strips them down to basic metals such as cobalt, lithium, copper and nickel, and then uses these materials to rebuild them into cathode and anode products. Like its operating plant in Nevada, Redwood's South Carolina plant will have 100% electric operations, not using any fossil fuel. Redwood's aim from its Nevada and South Carolina facilities is to be able to supply materials for up to 1 million vehicles annually by 2025, when the Ridgeville plant is expected to be completed, and for up to 5 million vehicles per year by 2030. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
EV manufacturer Tesla Incorporated (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas) is supporting its gigafactory in Austin, Texas, with a nearby cathode-materials plant, which broke ground in 2022 and is expected to be completed this summer. The cathode materials will be used in Tesla's Austin factory to produce model 4680 cylindrical battery cells, which are supposed to reduce battery costs by up to 50% due to improvements and innovations in battery design and production. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
In battery anodes, silicon can hold 10 times as many lithium ions by weight as graphite; however, technical challenges, such as the expansion of the anode when loaded with ions, have hindered its practical applications in battery production. That's changing as technology evolves, and these problems have been significantly overcome, causing early moves into large-scale silicon-based anode production. Since 2022, NanoGraf Corporation (Chicago, Illinois) has been at work establishing a manufacturing plant for silicon anode battery materials at a brownfield site in Chicago. Initial construction includes 17,000 square feet of production space with 2,500 square feet for research and development, as well as additional construction for office space. The facility is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will initially produce 35 tons per year of anode materials before ramping up to 1,000 tons per year. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Despite the growing use of silicon in anodes, the U.S. still has projects for more common graphite-based anode materials. Syrah Resources Limited currently is putting the finishing touches on a graphite-based anode materials plant in Vidalia, Louisiana. The project is the scaling up of an existing pilot-scale plant that produces about 5,000 tons per year of graphite materials. The current project adds 180,000 additional square feet to the plant and will bring production up to 11,250 tons per year of anode material. But Syrah might not stop there. The company expects the anode market to continue growing and has plans to scale the plant further to produce up to 45,000 tons per year, although this level of production would be a few years in coming. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the reports on the initial commercial scale-up of the plant and the subsequent planned expansion.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here to see the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
