Name of the Project
Vidalia battery anode material project.

Location
Vidalia, Louisiana, US.

Project Owner/s
Syrah Technologies.

Project Description
The project will add 16 722 m² of building and processing space to its existing 4 645 m² facility, enough to install equipment and systems for processing natural graphite into active anode material (AAM) used in lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle industry.

The initial Vidalia expansion will allow for the expansion of the Vidalia AAM facility to 11 250 t/y of AAM.

Potential Job Creation
Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will result in 52 indirect jobs for a total of 88 new jobs in Louisiana’s Central Region.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
$176-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Syrah Resources expects construction on the AAM facility expansion to begin in the first quarter of 2022. Construction is scheduled for completion in mid-2023, with AAM production starting in the third quarter of 2023.

Latest Developments
Syrah Resources has secured a $102-million loan facility from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to support the financing of expansion work at its Vidalia AAM facility.

The finalisation of the binding loan follows a conditional commitment from the DoE in April this year, which was made under its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan programme, which has $15.1-billion in uncommitted loan authority to support the manufacture of eligible advanced technology vehicles, including electric vehicles (EVs), and qualifying components and materials, in the US.

Syrah MD and CEO Shaun Verner has said that the loan will enable Syrah to accelerate its growth strategy in its downstream business and support the rapidly growing EV and battery supply chain.

Syrah and the DoE are targeting the loan to be effective by the end of the September 2022 quarter, with the first advance from the loan within the December 2022 quarter, aligned with the capital spending programme for the Vidalia project.

With advances starting from the DoE loan, Syrah will use surplus proceeds from the equity raising for a definitive feasibility study on expanding Vidalia’s production capacity to at least 45 000 t/y AAM and, if such an expansion is approved, to further the detailed engineering and construction of an expanded AAM facility, as well as the provision of additional balance sheet flexibility for Syrah.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Syrah Resources, tel +61 3 9670 7264 or email enquiries@syrahresources.com.au.