Canadian battery technology firm Nano One Materials is accelerating its efforts to commercialize its One Pot process, starting with 200 tonnes per year of LFP cathode materials. The production is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2023 at the Candiac facility in Quebec. This plant, which Nano One acquired in 2022 as part of its purchase of Johnson Matthey’s Canadian battery business, has a production capacity of 2,400 tonnes, and the company is upgrading it to its One-Pot technology. The plant will start with an output of 200 tonnes per year, which is expected to rise to up to 2,000 tonnes per year.
Nano One’s One-Pot and M2CAM processes are two of its core technologies. The company aims to produce various cathode materials directly from sulphate-free class 1 metals, such as iron and nickel metal powders, and lithium carbonate. This approach should eliminate the need for several processing steps, reduce energy consumption, water use, and costs.
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The company’s goal is to capture a significant share of the markets for LFP cathode materials, starting in North America, followed by Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. Nano One is also focusing on nickel- and manganese-based cathode materials as part of its growth strategy. To this end, the company has started work on a separate NMC and LNMO pilot plant with a capacity of 100 tonnes.
Nano One’s plan is to validate, qualify, and accept the products from the pilot phase, and potentially make initial sales. Following this, the company is planning to build a larger demo plant for commercial LFP production. The aim is to produce up to 10,000 tonnes per year on one line, which will serve as a blueprint to operate plants with several production lines and a total capacity of 50,000 to 100,000 tonnes per year.
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Nano One plans to source Class 1 ferrous metal from its partner and shareholder, Rio Tinto, and cooperate with BASF. By partnering with critical mineral and raw material providers, Nano One is looking to reduce waste, water, cost, and energy intensity while strengthening domestic supply chains. The company believes that its One-Pot technology will enable it to produce the cleanest CAM while reducing costs and building the most localized and secure supply chains.
