$3.6M earmarked for NMG to further develop green anode battery material

Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. of Montreal is continuing to develop its advanced graphite transformation technologies to supply the Western battery and electric vehicle market with environmentally friendly anode material.

Through the Technoclimat program and the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT), the Government of Québec will provide the Nouveau Monde Graphite with financial leverage of up to $3.6 million for advanced graphite transformation projects.

Above: Québec Minister Caroline Proulx (third from right) and NMG president & CEO Eric Desaulniers (right) pose with members of the company’s R&D team at its Phase-1 facilities during the announcement of the financial levers. (Photo: Business Wire)

Québec is providing financial assistance of up to $3 million through its Technoclimat program, a public investment platform dedicated to innovation in energy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. These funds will support the deployment of the coating technology at NMG’s Phase-1 operations and R&D initiatives launched in partnership with Professor Philippe Ouzilleau, an expert in graphite materials engineering from McGill University, and his research team.

Coating reduces the specific surface area of purified spherical graphite and increases its electrochemical performance through the surface application of a nanoscale layer of amorphous carbon. As a complement to the funding received from the Government of Canada, this financial assistance will go toward NMG’s innovative coating technology that could reduce energy consumption by up to 25%, reduce the environmental footprint of its products, and provide versatility for different coating precursor sources for greater flexibility in production. Indeed, the project’s R&D component aims at developing a biomass-based coating material to replace traditional petroleum-based coatings which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the use of these petroleum precursors by up to 50%.

On a commercial scale similar to what is planned for the Bécancour Battery Material Plant (Phase 2), NMG’s Phase-1 coating module supports product qualification with battery manufacturers.

The FRQNT is providing NMG with two new grants totalling up to $600,000 for the material production of quality graphite with a low environmental impact for the lithium-ion battery sector.

In collaboration with professor Lionel Roué from the Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) and professor Philippe Ouzilleau from McGill University, NMG intends to develop a series of high electrochemical performance graphite-based composites by valorizing residual materials from NMG’s process as well as bio-sourced materials. The ompany will also work with professors Gervais Soucy and Jocelyn Veilleux of the University of Sherbrooke on advanced graphite transformation technologies based on high-performance ecological thermal processes.

NMG intends to develop a high-performance composite series by improving residual materials. The company will also work with the professors at Université de Sherbrooke on an advanced graphite transformation technology using a thermal plasma reactor.