Australian company Magnis Energy Technology signed an agreement with Tesla to supply the automaker with raw materials for its batteries.
Under the terms of the binding agreement, Magnis will supply Tesla with a minimum of 17,500 tons per year (tpa) of anode-active material (AAM) starting in February 2025.
The deal will have a minimum term of three years and at a fixed price, and Tesla has the right to increase its supply to 35,000 tons/year.
The condition is that Magnis must secure final placement for its commercial AAM facility by June 30, 2023, manufacture it from a pilot plant by March 31, 2024, and then commence production. from a commercial AAM facility by February 1, 2025.
Magnis said it will begin large-scale pilot plant development for both AAM and Nachu graphite concentrates immediately.
It is in the process of selecting a U.S. location for an AAM facility, and it has begun developing pilot plant facilities for both materials by appointing new tenants and beginning to order equipment. bag.
Magnis calls itself a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery technology and materials company and, through its subsidiary Imperium3 New York, Inc (iM3NY), operates a gigawatt-scale lithium-ion battery factory in Endicott, New York.
Over a period of seven years, the company has been working on manufacturing AAM using Nachu graphite concentrate sourced from Tanzania at its New York facilities.
“We are really excited to bring our high-performance AAM to market without chemical or thermal refining throughout the entire process, which differentiates sustainable materials,” said Magnis President Frank Poullas. in the market and bring great value to all parties”.
Magnis isn’t the only Australian company with which Tesla has struck such a deal.
It had a recently revised agreement with Piedmont Lithium, for a binding three-year term for the Australian company to supply approximately 125,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to Tesla between the second half of this year and the end of 2025.
It also sources minerals from BHP, Syrah Resources, and Liontown Resources.
Other companies have also tapped Australian companies to supply raw materials, with General Motors signing an agreement last year with Queensland Pacific Metals to nickel and cobalt sources from the Sunshine State. Ford also sources materials from Australia.
Where we currently source the materials for the batteries, Tesla chairman Robyn Denholm has previously called for Australia to start refining raw minerals before shipping them overseas.
Ms Denholm told the Minerals Council: “Tesla estimates that last year Australia supplied about 49 per cent of the world’s lithium ore – spodumene – but not the percentage of refined product suitable for batteries.”
“That lium sold for around US$100 million, but if it were processed onshore in Australia it would be worth US$1.7 billion. So that’s a $1.6 billion annual opportunity and growing.”
Ms Denholm said the nation was facing an “extraordinary” opportunity to cash in on growing demand for lithium, nickel and cobalt to build electric vehicles.
