Talga eyes graphite anode for solid state batteries

Perth-based battery materials developer Talga Resources is to develop a graphite-based anode for solid state batteries under a consortium project partly funded by the UK's innovation agency, Innovation UK.

Other members of the consortium include specialist metals research and development company Johnson Matthey and Sheffield University.

Talga's UK subsidiary has gained funds from the UK government's $302mn ISCF Faraday Battery Challenge initiative, which focuses on battery research, development and scaling up of facilities to create a supply chain for battery products in the UK.

Solid state batteries are an emerging form of battery technology with the potential to combine high energy, power and safety. Some major automakers have announced plans to adopt solid state batteries in their electric vehicle battery mix by 2025, in addition to lithium-ion batteries.

A major bottleneck in solid state battery development is the anode, where the use of metallic lithium can cause issues relating to charging, safety and cost.

Talga's objective is to avoid these issues through a high-capacity graphite carbon composite anode called Talnode–E, designed to have multiple advantages, including faster charging, increased power and safety, scalable manufacturing and lower costs.

"We are seeing increasing customer demand for solid state batteries and have attained non-disclosure agreements with leading electronic and automakers looking to test our anodes based on our 100pc-owned Swedish graphite supply," managing director Mark Thompson said.