Eagle Graphite, which owns the only natural flake graphite facility in western North America that is permitted for production, has announced its participation in a two-year research programme to develop and commercialise silicon-modified battery anodes made with graphite from its Black Crystal graphite quarry in Valhalla, British Columbia.
Eagle is partnering with the University of British Columbia (UBC) on the research.
Grant funding of C$290 000 was announced for the project in 2019, but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the start of the project.
The UBC’s Advanced Materials for Energy Storage Lab, under the leadership of Dr Jian Liu, is the project's research lead during the initial stages.
The project aims to establish baseline performance of battery anode graphite from Eagle Graphite's plant and quarry near the cities of Castlegar and Nelson, British Columbia.
Further improvements to the formulation, incorporating silicon into the anode, will be tested, and if successful, advanced for commercialisation.
Eagle Graphite CEO Jamie Deith says the company welcomes 2021 with “renewed excitement and optimism”.
“Global adoption of new, more sustainable energy systems is intensifying, and superior materials for tomorrow's batteries will play an enormous role in that transformation.
"We anticipate exponential growth in global demand for battery graphite to continue for many years, especially for graphite formulations yielding superior performance."