Battery materials specialist Nano One (TSX:NANO / Frankfurt:LBMB) has reported good progress in its joint development work with an Asia-based cathode producer.
The identity of the cathode producer has yet to be disclosed by Nano One, which is now partnering with a number of companies and institutions around the world.
Nano One is a clean technology company with a patented low carbon intensity process for the production of low cost, high-performance cathode materials used in lithium-ion batteries.
Deal is moving towards commercialisation planning
The first two phases of the joint development program have been focused on LNMO cathode materials (lithium nickel manganese oxide) and have been successfully completed with validation by both parties. Work is now shifting to scale-up considerations, detailed economic analysis, third-party evaluation, and preliminary planning for commercialization.
Nano One is a Canadian government-backed listed battery technology play which sits firmly at the nexus of a number of major technical and environmental themes within the rapidly evolving battery technology story. It has been one of our favourite stocks for over a year now.
“The work under this agreement is on schedule and on budget, and the LNMO materials have met phase one and two metrics for performance and economics,” said Nano One CEO Dan Blondal. “This partnership is built on trust and a common vision to launch a differentiated and sustainable cathode materials business and we are pleased to be reporting measurable progress towards these goals and the continued execution of our business plans.”
The companies are co-developing high-performance LNMO cathode materials using Nano One’s patented One-Pot Process. LNMO, also known as high voltage spinel (HVS), is of increasing global interest and has great potential in next-generation lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, renewable energy storage and consumer electronic devices. It delivers energy and power on par with other high-performance cathodes and is more cost effective because it is cobalt free, low in nickel and does not require excess lithium.
Emphasis on making batteries cheaper and more environmentally friendly
Nano One got the attention of the market a couple of months ago when it launched a metal to cathode active material initiative, which makes it possible to use pure base metals in the production of cathodes for lithium-ion car batteries. This replaces the need for metal sulphates or other salts. The technology is designed to be kinder to the environment and should also increase battery capacity by up to 5% compared with cathode materials made from metal salts.
Nano One says it is aiming to achieve a more ESG friendly production process and reduce costs, waste, energy and overall carbon footprint when manufacturing EV batteries.
Nano One stock has seen some explosive price growth since we started following the company closely in December 2019. Shares were up over 373% from then to the end of March. Nano One stock saw some heavy buying in December 2020, catapulting the stock from C$3.5 to as high as $6.5. Lack of news from the company as seen the price dawdling a little since mid-March but we get the sense from recent releases that there is a lot going on behind the scenes. Certainly the stock is at its cheapest right since since the big gains in December.
