Critical Resources (ASX:CRR) has secured co-funding through CSIRO’s Kick-Start program to optimise and scale its Dry Supersonic Deposition (DSD) battery manufacturing process.
The project, which starts in September, aims to utilise CSIRO’s digital twin capabilities to build a 3D virtual model, simulating gas flow behavior, particle trajectories, velocity distributions, and supersonic shockwave locations.
The work will be led by Dr Saden Zahiri at CSIRO’s Lab22 in Clayton, Victoria.
According to the company, the total budget for the 12-month project is $100,000, with CSIRO contributing up to $50,000 and Critical Resources funding the remaining balance.
The company’s solvent- and binder-free DSD technology removes the need for drying ovens by accelerating cathode and electrolyte materials to supersonic velocities, depositing them dry in a single step. The intellectual property is being co-developed with the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Managing Director Tim Wither says with South Dakota Mines, and now CSIRO, Critical Resources is finding solutions on both the materials and manufacturing sides.
“Our focus at this stage is to develop the process knowledge: the patent position, the data, and the engineering understanding a potential cell manufacturer needs to run it,” Wither says.
“Peer review has established that DSD works. What comes next is knowing where the operating window sits, what causes defects, and how the process behaves at scale.”
Critical Resources plans to commercialise its battery manufacturing intellectual property through licensing rather than direct cell production. It will then continue a parallel evaluation program with South Dakota Mines, including full-format pouch cell testing and solid-state electrolyte integration.
Critical Resources is a mining and technology company focused on critical minerals and next-generation technologies.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Critical Resources
