Name of the Project
Silumina anodes battery materials project.

Location
Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park, which straddles the border between the federal states of Brandenburg and Saxony, in Germany.

Project Owner/s
Altech Industries Germany (75%) and Altech Advanced Materials.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study has demonstrated outstanding results for the development of a 10 000 t/y silicon/graphite alumina coating plant.

The design of the proposed plant incorporates one main production building and three ancillary buildings, to be constructed on the Schwarze Pumpe plant site.

Altech Industries has started construction of a pilot plant adjacent to the proposed site of the plant. Product from the pilot plant will be provided for potential buyers, such as automakers, to fast-track the silumina anodes product qualification process. The pilot plant is designed to produce up to 36 680 kg/y of anode grade coated silumina anodes (120 kg/d).

Production from the pilot plant will be used to confirm that the Altech process consistently achieves product purity requirements, optimises equipment design and process parameters for a full-scale 10 000 t/y production plant, as well as produce qualification samples for any potential joint venture offtake partners and end-users.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $507-million and an internal rate of return of 40%, with a payback of about 3.1 years.

Capital Expenditure
$95-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The project is expected to attain full production and sales in three years.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Küttner (final plant engineering of the silumina anodes pilot plant).

Contact Details for Project Information
Altech Chemicals. tel +61 8 6168 1555 or email info@altechchemicals.com.