UK-based niobium battery materials company Echion and the world's largest niobium producer CBMM have opened a niobium anode production facility at CBMM's industrial complex in Araxa, Brazil, this week.
The facility will produce up to 2,000 t/yr of Echion's proprietary XNO active anode material, equivalent to 1GWh of lithium-ion cells.
The niobium-based anode material is designed to enable safer fast-charging, reducing the risk of overheating or battery damage. The material can also maintain high-energy density at extreme temperatures and high power across more than 10,000 charging cycles, Echion said.
Echion and CBMM aim to supply the XNO anode material to electrified heavy-duty industry, commercial and mass-transport customers, as these sectors could benefit the most from safe ultra-fast charging and long-life batteries.
Echion already has some downstream customers for its XNO products. Leclanche, a Swiss energy storage technology supplier, announced its XN50 lithium-ion battery cell that uses XNO anode material in September. Leclanche is expected to replace its existing lithium titanium oxide offering with this new range of batteries.
Meanwhile, CBMM began testing niobium-titanium-oxide anode materials in short-range lithium-ion batteries earlier this year as part of a project to produce electric buses with Japan's Toshiba and Germany's Volkswagen.
CBMM is the world's largest producer of ferro-niobium used to produce high-strength steels, but has expanded into niobium-based battery materials in recent years. The company aims to have 30pc of its revenues come from non-steel-based products by 2030.
