Exciting news, with the extremely high purity a huge factor, LOW...

Exciting news, with the extremely high purity a huge factor, LOW production costs, and the ESG factors considered.

By combining environmentally-friendly thermal purification technology with Evolution’s desire to develop Chilalo as the world’s first net zero carbon graphite mine, the Company is positioning itself to produce the world’s most green and sustainable battery anode materials. The use of thermal purification is expected to enable a lower carbon footprint for Chilalo’s battery anode material supply chain.Cost is also a very important factor in developing a competitive battery anode material supply chain. In 2021, the operating cost associated with traditional graphite refinement using HF/HCl in China was approximately US$700 per tonne and it produces a 99.9 to 99.95 wt.% C product. This product is then subjected to thermal treatment in bulk using energy-intensive Acheson furnaces that consume 9-12 kWh/kg of graphite in addition to the aforementioned cost.Evolution’s chosen technology of continuous thermal purification is significantly more energy efficient than the Acheson process, requiring a very low energy input in the order of 1.9 kWh/kg of graphite. At a power cost of US$0.05/kWh, the cost of thermal purification to a super-premium product using Evolution’s process is approximately US$500 per tonne – notably lower than the cost of refining graphite using the traditional Asian flowsheets.Very positive announcement.