Electric vehicle battery materials factory to open in Tennessee

Novonix plans to retrofit a Chattanooga, Tennessee General Electric plant to produce 8,000 tons of anode materials annually for electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems.

Australian EV battery materials company Novonix has announced its contract to purchase and retrofit a 400,000+ square foot plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee to accommodate their planned production of 8,000 tons of anode materials, a key feature in EV battery technology, as well as in battery energy storage. 

Novonix said this phase of growth will support the production of anode materials that can supply lithium-ion battery packs for over 100,000 EVs. 

The expansion plan will bring Novonix’s annual anode material production capacity to 10,000 tons annually by 2023. The company said it has major agreements underway with Sanyo Electric of Japan and Samsung of South Korea, both major international manufacturers of EVs and energy storage systems worldwide.  

The anode material division of the Novonix parent company called Puregraphite has already been operating in Chattanooga since 2019. Puregraphite said it is the only qualified producer in North America of high-grade anode materials suitable for lithium-ion batteries for both electric vehicles and energy storage systems. 

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development said the project will create nearly 300 jobs, and the project represents an investment of approximately $160 million in the county. 

From: https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2021/07/01/electric-vehicle-battery-materials-factory-to-open-in-tennessee/