Li-S Energy (ASX:LIS) has completed the installation of a new lithium foil roller and laminator, marking the first lithium foil production line in Australia at its battery cell production facility in Geelong, Victoria.
As reported by Mining.com.au, the company employed lithium extrusion equipment earlier this year to produce the first 100-micron thick pure lithium metals foils in July, which Li-S Energy claims was ahead of schedule.
Since then, Li-S Energy has produced 20-micron lithium foils for battery cell production, while selling lithium-cated copper laminate foils to international customers.
Chief Technology Officer Steve Rowlands says the consistency of lithium foil grades with integrated rolling, laminating, and coating ensures the company’s capabilities.
“Tight thickness control enables us to push Li-S cell energy density and performance while accelerating design-for-manufacture at scale,” Rowlands says.
“We can now iterate cell designs faster with customers and deliver production-grade materials to other development programs around the world.”
CEO Lee Finniear says establishing domestic manufacturing capability is an important step for the company, as well as Australia’s supply chain.
“In addition to supplying the lithium anodes to optimise our own cell production, our new lithium foil production line gives us a strategic opportunity to offer high-quality Australian-produced lithium foils and lithium-copper laminates to battery development companies and research and development institutions in Australia and around the world,” Finniear says.
Li-S Energy is now testing the automation of coating the company’s Li-nanomesh nanomaterial composites onto the lithium foils to improve performance, employee safety, and cycle life of the battery chemistries.
The project was bolstered by the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Program with a $1.78 million grant, which enabled this sovereign capability.
Li-S Energy is an Australian company that is focused on delivering lithium-sulfur and lithium-metal cells that doubles energy density in comparison to conventional lithium-ion.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Li-S Energy
