Canadian battery materials group Nano One Materials Corp (TSX-V: NNO) has announced that it has completed a detailed engineering report that enhances design specifications, tightens budgetary estimates, and models improved economics for the commercial-scale production of lithium-ion battery cathode materials. This uses Nano One’s patented process technology.
Nano One is a revolutionary developer of patented technology for the low cost production of lithium-ion battery cathode materials used in electric vehicles and energy storage. It sits on a pile of interesting technology patents and is extremely well positioned to benefit from the increasing interest in electric vehicle technology we are now seeing globally.
The report was prepared by Noram Engineering and Constructors in Vancouver. It shows that the company can achieve a reduction in equipment and operating expenses from last year’s estimates. The reduction relates to Nano One’s partnership with Pulead Technology (see below). The news enhances the value of Nano One’s technology and also strengthens the company’s commercial opportunities.
Nano One shares are moving on the news. The stock has risen from C$0.81 on 16 March, to C$1.57 at the time of writing. Nano One has now moved beyond the C$1.14-1.18 range it was trading at when we first covered it, and has successfully shrugged off the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It continues to enjoy the financial support of the Canadian government.
The report forms an engineering basis for Nano One’s other cathode materials, namely lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide and lithium nickel manganese oxide.
The report demonstrates that Nano One has been able to improve the economics and enhance the design specifications on a 4800 tonne per year manufacturing line for the production of lithium iron phosphate (known as LFP). LFP is seeing renewed market enthusiasm because global leaders, including Tesla, have announced high density LFP battery packs in vehicles that facilitate driving ranges up to 600 km.
“These innovations could radically expand the global demand for LFP cathode materials beyond Asia and into North America, Europe and other markets,” explained Dan Blondal, CEO of Nano One. “This represents a tremendous opportunity for Nano One to leverage its low cost production of LFP and to advance its commercial prospects.”
Nano One has been working with Pulead Technology to develop, evaluate and optimise scaled up production of lithium iron phosphate cathode materials. Licensing and commercialisation opportunities are being explored as part of this collaboration. Pulead is a global leader in LFP production and is looking to expand its capacity in a rapidly growing market. They are a trusted cathode supplier and have license agreements in place with BASF, Umicore and Prayon.
The Armchair Trader first covered Nano One in early December. We liked the fact that it is well-positioned to benefit from increasing interest in the durability and operating range of batteries. As the world moves towards phasing out petrol and diesel-driven vehicles, manufacturers are exploring the possibilities of next generation battery materials.
Nano One is on The Armchair Trader’s pick list. Check out how it and other stocks performed in May.
