Global battery manufacturer Battery Group has engaged Altech Batteries (ASX:ATC) in an unsolicited approach expressing interest in the company’s proprietary high‑performance silicon‑enhanced anode technology.
Altech says the approach is a “significant and strategically important development” in its trademarked Silumina Anodes Project, and the unsolicited approach represents validation of the technical progress achieved by Altech.
The company notes it also underscores the growing global recognition of the breakthrough potential of its alumina‑coated silicon innovations. Following initial discussions, a mutual non‑disclosure agreement (NDA) was executed to enable the confidential technical exchange and evaluation of materials.
As part of this collaboration, Altech has prepared and supplied Silumina Anodes samples to Battery Group. These samples, developed under the leadership of Altech’s CTO Dr Jingyuan Lui, have now been shipped to Battery Group for formal testing in their advanced battery‑evaluation laboratories in China.
The Battery Group’s team, during preliminary discussions, reportedly indicated that across the industry they have not yet seen silicon additions deliver such meaningful performance improvements at low percentages.
Traditionally, attempts to integrate silicon into commercial lithium‑ion anodes have been challenged by expansion-related degradation, unstable solid‑electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation and rapid cycle‑life fade.
The performance of Altech’s coated silicon, achieved with only modest silicon loading, was highlighted as particularly noteworthy, the company says. Battery Group acknowledged that very few material suppliers globally are producing silicon additives with this level of stability, consistency, and real‑world applicability.
“This early feedback reinforces the technical advantage and disruptive potential of Altech’s process,” the company adds.
The Battery Group has also requested that Altech undertake coating trials on their supplied graphite material to assess the performance impact of integrating Altech’s proprietary alumina technology directly onto their own anode substrate.
Under the NDA, the Battery Group has dispatched several kilograms of representative graphite samples to Altech’s Perth, Western Australia laboratory, where Lui’s team will apply the company’s coating process and prepare evaluation batches.
These coated graphite samples will then be returned to Battery Group for benchmarking against their internal standards, providing a direct comparison of how Altech’s technology enhances their preferred graphite formulations.
Altech’s spherisation process transforms irregular silicon particles into perfectly rounded, alumina-coated spheres that integrate seamlessly within graphite anodes. The process begins with submicron silicon powders that are uniformly coated with a nanolayer of high-purity alumina, buffering against volume expansion during lithiation.
These coated particles are then spherified through a precision-controlled thermal and mechanical process that rounds their geometry.
When blended into the graphite matrix, the spherical Silumina Anodes particles naturally occupy microscopic voids, where they can expand and contract freely during cycling without damaging the surrounding structure.
This optimised configuration mitigates mechanical stress, maintains electrode integrity, and enhances electrical connectivity. With only a 5% addition, the design achieves more than 40% capacity boost while preserving exceptional cycle stability over extended use.
Altech announced on 9 October 2025 a major advancement in its Silumina Anodes project, achieving the strongest battery-cycling performance recorded to date for its proprietary alumina-coated spherical silicon anode material.
Since that announcement, the latest test results now demonstrate an 83% capacity retention after 1,000 charge–discharge cycles with a 5% Silumina Anodes addition to a standard graphite anode. This represents a significant milestone for the Silumina Anodes technology, confirming both its durability and real-world commercial potential.
“Importantly, such cycle-life performance places Altech’s material at the forefront of next-generation silicon-enhanced anode technologies, strengthening its position in the rapidly evolving global battery materials market,” the company says.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Altech
