Canada-based Nouveau Monde Graphite is finishing the commissioning of a new advanced research and development (R&D) laboratory at its demonstration plant in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Quebec, Canada.
The company said that this expansion was triggered by its commitment to catering to the market's requirements for high-performing and environmentally responsible battery materials that can be tailored to various specifications to be used for electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage.
The company is working towards developing a fully integrated source of green battery anode material in Quebec, noting that as applications diversify, technology is a critical driver in battery material engineering and manufacturing.
Nouveau Monde's new dedicated laboratory facilities will provide it with the in-house capacity, flexibility and speediness for testing advanced anode material and providing customised specifications to battery and EV manufacturers.
The new laboratory features equipment that covers a range of technical measurements - specifically particle size, tapped density, coin cell cycling with full coin cell preparation equipment, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) trace element analysis, BET specific surface area, along with particle morphology, coating quality and impurity analysis by SEM-EDX. Nouveau Monde said that this supports its phase-1 anode material production.
In addition, the company has recruited two more prominent scientists to expand its R&D and technical team to 25 people, which includes six PhD recipients. The team also has 18 engineers who are specialists in the fields of lithium-ion batteries (LiB), carbon materials, bi-polar plates, electrochemistry and engineered advanced materials.
Nouveau Monde has also formed a Scientific Advisory Committee to advance and expand its research portfolio and capabilities.
Arne H Frandsen, chairman of Nouveau Monde, commented: "Today's investment in R&D is tomorrow's competitive advantage in the marketplace. We continue our confidential and proprietary development efforts with a view to supporting the world's leading lithium-ion battery makers and intend to continue investing in cutting-edge technology with the support of best-in-class scientists and engineers. Nouveau Monde's mission is to engineer graphite-based advanced solutions to power a decarbonised future."
Eric Desaulniers, founder, president and CEO of Nouveau Monde, concluded: "We are delighted to welcome MV Reddy and Neel to the team as we advance our beneficiation operations. Their expertise will help further enhance our processes and product specs."
