US-based vertically integrated battery technology company Pure Lithium Corporation has been granted a patent for its "lithium metal anode and battery" in Australia, which covers the company’s lithium metal anode technology and its integration into a complete lithium metal battery.

Australia mines roughly half of the world’s lithium, yet has no domestic battery production at all; every battery the country uses is imported.

The granted patent is directed to ways in which Pure Lithium’s technology can change that.

Rather than trying to catch up in lithium-ion, Australia can leapfrog the incumbent technology and establish a next-generation industry.

As worldwide demand for batteries grows, every country capable of making batteries needs to be making them, Pure Lithium says. 

The company's central goal is opening up markets around the world through battery technology that enables local, independent supply chains, keeping pace with demand and strengthening economies. China controls the lithium-ion battery supply chain and manufactures the vast majority of batteries, leaving all other countries vulnerable.

The newly granted patent protects Pure Lithium’s intellectual property in Australia, and bolster's the company’s portfolio of more than 160 patents and patent applications spanning multiple jurisdictions.

Pure Lithium’s lithium metal battery’s materials can be sourced, and the battery produced, in many countries around the world. "This patent is an important step toward creating something Australia has never had: a complete domestic battery production supply chain, from lithium extraction to finished battery.

"Australia’s resource advantage extends beyond lithium: the country also holds substantial vanadium deposits, the cathode material used in Pure Lithium’s Gen-2 battery, meaning both sides of the battery could be sourced on Australian soil," Pure Lithium states.

Founder, chairperson and CEO Emilie Bodoin adds that securing patent protection for the company's lithium metal anode and battery technology in Australia is a significant milestone in the group's global strategy of establishing battery production hubs in key markets around the world.

“Australia possesses the natural resources, technical talent, and regulatory environment to be an excellent jurisdiction for next-generation lithium metal battery manufacturing. This patent strengthens our position to bring lithium metal battery production to Australia and reinforces our mission of opening up markets to build a secure battery supply chain independent of Chinese dominance.”

DIFFERENTIATED PRODUCT

Pure Lithium's lithium metal anode represents a step-change improvement over the graphite anode used in today's lithium-ion battery in various aspects including energy density, cycle life, and materials cost. The company believes its lithium metal battery is suitable for substantially all applications in which the lithium-ion battery is used today, including drones, smartphones, electric scooters, grid-scale energy storage systems, and electric vehicles.

Pure Lithium's lithium metal battery is free of graphite, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and other materials that have supply chain vulnerabilities owing to being predominantly sourced from or refined in China. Instead, Pure Lithium’s lithium metal battery technology could enable the first truly China-independent supply chain for next-generation energy storage.

By integrating lithium metal anode production directly with battery manufacturing, Pure Lithium captures margin at every stage of the value chain.

This vertically integrated approach reduces battery production costs on a materials level and contributes to exceptional battery performance. Pure Lithium’s technology is not an incremental improvement on lithium-ion; it is the generational leap that building new battery industries around the world requires.