Starts industrial production of sustainable cathode material
The Uppsala company Altris, whose business concept is to enable next-generation batteries, has gone from strength to strength since its founding in 2017. Altris is a spin-off from the Ångström laboratory and has completed all business development program steps at UIC at a rapid pace.
Lithium-ion batteries dominate current rechargeable battery usage. Most of lithium-ion cell manufacturing today takes place in Asia. The lithium-cobalt system was long dominant and has a high energy density, but on closer scrutiny of the production of cobalt and lithium batteries, there is a less-than-flattering alternative side with economic, environmental and ethical concerns. In other words, there is a great need for alternative and sustainable solutions to meet current and future demand for batteries.
Altris produces durable cathode material for rechargeable sodium batteries. The product goes by the name Fennac. The only metal Fennac that uses is iron found in the earth’s crust. In addition to the sustainability perspective, there are several advantages. The raw materials are both cheaper and more abundant, which will enable a faster scale-up. Fennac also has greater safety than competing technologies. The majority of Altri’s cathode material is currently used for the development and construction of a complete range of Fennac-based batteries, but in the long term the ambition is to sell both knowledge and material to cell manufacturers (battery manufacturers).
With extensive investments from, among others, the companies Molindo Energy, EIT InnoEnergy and Northvolt, Altris plans to start its first industrial production of Fennac at the new Ferrum production facility in Sandviken. The first deliveries to the market are planned to be carried out during the beginning of 2023.