Frankfurt am Main/Jintan, 13 April 2021 – SVOLT Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (SVOLT), a global high-tech company based in China, is announcing today that it has started mass production of the cobalt-free cathode material for its NMX battery cells in Jintan, in eastern China.
In January 2021, the pilot production of 10 tonnes of cobalt-free cathode material was successfully completed in the battery cell factory in Jintan. In its current development stage, the cell factory now produces 5,000 tonnes of the main material for cobalt-free battery production per year.
Cobalt-free nickel manganese battery cells
Nickel manganese battery cells (NMX) completely dispense with the heavy metal cobalt, which is otherwise used for stabilisation of high-nickel battery cells. SVOLT is thus the only company currently on the market that has managed to bring high-nickel cell chemistry without cobalt to mass production readiness.
For cobalt-free NMX battery cells, SVOLT has developed a new cathode material that consists of 75 percent nickel and 25 percent manganese and is completely cobalt-free. The cathode is stabilised by means of specially developed doping and coating processes. NMX cells – even without cobalt – therefore achieve higher thermal stability and overall safety than NCM811 cells.
The first cobalt-free battery cells, which are more sustainable and cheaper than comparable NCM811 battery cells, will leave the production line as of June 2021. The first two SVOLT NMX cell variants have been available to order worldwide since mid-December 2020.
Celebratory event in Jintan
SVOLT President and General Manager Hongxin Yang welcomed the next step towards sustainable battery production for electric vehicles at a ceremony at the Jintan factory.
An English recording of the event is available on SVOLT’s YouTube channel.
Statement
Hongxin Yang, SVOLT President and General Manager: “As early as 2018, we discovered that the limited supply of cobalt resources can hinder the sustainable development of the battery industry. SVOLT has therefore set itself the goal of continuously leading the battery industry through research and development work in order to tap into new technologies and thus become the technological leader of a new era.”
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