Dahn Theories, page-24

Building on OzPup’s message, Dahn could be joined the Novonix team to help optimize NMC to use class 2 nickel oxide as input material using DPMG. Obrovac’s paper Engineered Particle Synthesis by Dry Particle Microgranulation (https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/pdfExtended/S2666-3864(20)30057-6) shows that it is possible to use nickel oxide, but the paper only demonstrates the concept. The chemistry was not yet optimized for production.

Opening up cathode production to class 2 nickel oxide would be highly desirable for Tesla as they strive to increase battery production by 100x by 2030. There simply isn’t enough class 1 nickel sulphate production coming online to meet the ev demand and prices are increasing. Allowing class 2 nickel would give Tesla breathing room in terms of supply and cost. This moonshot is important enough to send their best man Dahn to collaborate with a competitor to make it happen.

I believe Novonix investors were overly optimistic to expect DPMG to have been incorporated by Battery Day. The paper introducing the discovery of DPMG was published less than 6 months before the Battery Day event. It’s going to take time to optimize and scale the equipment but the end result will be one of those, Tesla style, “order of magnitude” shifts in the industry.