PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Talga on Tuesday said it was progressing project financing discussions for its Vittangi anode project, in Sweden, and is looking at both project funding packages and at possible strategic partnerships.

The company has received a letter of interest from the Nordic Investment Bank, which is exploring the possibility of providing financing to Talga’s integrated Vittangi project.

In addition, a letter of support has also been received from the Swiss Export Risk Insurance (SERV) for technology partner ABB’s delivery of production and process control solutions to Vittangi.

Talga said on Tuesday that these solutions form a significant portion of the total project scope and capital expenditure. Typically, interest rates charged by lenders on debt guaranteed by export credit agencies, such as SERV, are lower than commercial rates as repayment of the debt is guaranteed.

In addition, Talga has also received a second Letter of Support from a leading European bank to provide financing for the project.

In parallel, the company is also continuing to pursue binding commercial agreements and finance commitments through its partnership strategy, noting that discussions with potential strategic partners are ongoing and include large automotive OEMs and global participants across the lithium-ion battery supply chain.

The last six months have seen Talga achieve significant progress in the development of our Vittangi anode project in Sweden, which is receiving strong interest in project financing options amid rising market demand,’ said MD Mark Thompson.

“As the company executes on this stage of development and value engineering, the support received from European financial institutions is a significant vote of confidence in the project."

Talga is building a vertically integrated graphite anode business in Europe using 100% renewable electricity to produce ultra-low emissions coated active anode for greener lithium-ion batteries.

The company is progressing towards commercial production at its flagship active anode material plant, having recently opened the first lithium-ion battery anode plant in Europe, and reaching a milestone in the permitting process for the 19 500 t/y operation.