High Quality Natural Graphite for Lithium Ion Batteries

This project will complete 6 years of work by Coulometrics to develop a new environmentally friendly and lower cost process to produce high-quality LIB anode material that exhibits: • lower cost; • improved purification through an environmentally friendly process, and; • a high quality and consistent material suitable for demanding EV applications.Virtually all graphite for lithium ion batteries is currently sourced from Asia.This represents an estimated $1B industry with no beneficiaries in the U.S.This is true even though vast resources of flake graphite exist in the US and Canada and the U.S.produces 75% of the worlds premium needle coke need to produce high-quality synthetic graphite for LIBs.Many junior graphite and petroleum companies are eager to see their materials used for LIB anode material; however, new state-of-the-art process technologies are required to: • grind and round graphite particles with high yield; • purify natural spheronized graphite and graphitize synthetic graphite, and; • CVD coating of the graphite particles to enable high quality and long-life LIBs.During Phase I and Phase II of this SBIR program, Coulometrics was able to develop the needed technologies for grinding, rounding, purification/graphitization, and coating of the graphite particles.Coulometrics was able to license these technologies for $10M and establish a production company for graphite called PUREgraphite to commercialize this process in Chattanooga, TN.PUREgraphite is currently installing capacity for 1,000tpy of graphite that will be operational in 2019.In order to expand beyond 1,000tpy, the development of new-to-theworld fine powder graphitization furnace technology must be development.Coulometrics is proposing to develop this needed technology during this SBIR Phase IIB program.Coulometrics is already working with leading U.S.battery manufacturers and has included letters of support for this effort from Tesla Motors and K2 Energy.