- EcoGraf (EGR) has landed a 10-year sales agreement with thyssenkrupp Materials Trading, a subsidiary of major German tech group thyssenkrupp AG
- EcoGraf will sell purified spherical graphite (SpG) battery anode material and by-product (fines) from its planned Kwinana facility in W.A.
- The company considers this a major step to encourage battery manufacturing in Australia rather than relying so heavily on China
- In the first year of the deal, EcoGraf will sell over 2310 tonnes of both SpG and fines to thyssenkrupp
- The sales amount will increase each year for the first three years of the deal
- EcoGraf shares are up just over 10 per cent this morning, currently trading for 7.2 cents each
EcoGraf (EGR) has signed a non-binding sales deal with thyssenkrupp Materials Trading, a subsidiary of major German tech group thyssenkrupp AG.
The 10-year agreement will see EcoGraf sell purified spherical graphite (SpG) battery anode material and by-product (fines) from its planned Kwinana facility in Western Australia.
Thyssenkrupp AG is a technology group with around 160,000 employees in nearly 80 countries. In the 2019 financial year, it generated sales of roughly €42 billion (roughly A$68 billion).
“The signing of the agreement involving the sale of value-added battery mineral products is a milestone event for our company and supports recent Federal and State Government initiatives to encourage battery manufacturing in Australia,” EcoGraf Managing Director Andrew Spinks said.
Under the sales agreement, 2310 tonnes of SpG and 2310 tonnes of fines will be supplied in the first year. This will be followed by 3600 tonnes of both SpG and fines in the second year, and 10,020 tonnes of both SpG and fines from the third year onwards.
“The agreement represents a significant step forward in our efforts to secure funding for the new Kwinana facility and confirms the increasing demand by customers for environmentally responsible graphite purification,” Andrew added.
The proposed facility will be the first of its kind to be built outside of China. It will provide a new supply of cost-competitive purified spherical graphite for the lithium-ion battery market as global manufacturers shift to clean, renewable energy.
EcoGraf shares are up 10.77 per cent and trading for 7.2 cents each at 11:44 am AEST.