ABB, Talga Exploring Major Battery Anode Project

ABB and battery anode and graphene additive company Talga Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop Talga’s Vittangi Anode Project in northern Sweden.

Combining a scalable battery anode production facility with integrated graphite mining operations, the project will be powered by 100% renewable electricity to supply ultra-low emission coated anodes for green lithium-ion batteries. It will be located around 15 km from the town of Vittangi and is expected to begin anode production at 19 000 tons per annum from 2023.

Sweden is known to have significant mineral resources of graphite and exploration takes place primarily in the north of the country. This work is important for steel, car and battery manufacturing industries. Most of the world’s reserves are in China, with other key nations India and Brazil. Europe currently imports most of its graphite, but with the increase in battery technologies, the aim is to meet a proportion of the additional demand.

“ABB is at the forefront of industrial automation and electrification, and we are very pleased to have their support as we continue to execute on our plan to build one of Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery anode production facility for more sustainable batteries,” said Mark Thompson, Managing Director, Talga Group.

Northern Europe’s available supply of low-cost green electricity from a range of large-scale renewable sources will also support the production of Talga’s low CO₂ battery anodes.

“Supporting the development of Talga’s Vittangi Anode Project provides us with an additional opportunity to showcase ABB’s leadership in industrial automation and smart electrification, applied towards construction of key operations for the emerging European battery supply chain,” said Björn Jonsson, Division Manager North Europe, Process Industries, ABB. “This is another milestone for us and our customers in our aim for more sustainable operations and a fossil fuel free society.”

A pre-feasibility study was completed in May 2019. The location in Sweden is considered to be a low risk mining and investment jurisdiction. Crucially, it is close to emerging European battery gigafactories currently under development, ABB said.