Li-Metal & Blue Solutions sign development agreement
Li-Metal, a Canadian developer of lithium metal anodes, has signed a development and marketing agreement with Bolloré subsidiary Blue Solutions for battery anodes. A joint anode production plant is also planned.
Blue Solutions itself manufactures solid-state batteries, which are used in the Mercedes eCitaro, among other vehicles. The aim of the cooperation agreement concluded by Li-Metal and Blue Solutions is to combine the expertise of both companies to develop next-generation anodes for use in electric passenger cars.
Li-Metal will contribute its lithium metal anode technologies, while Blue Solutions will contribute its expertise in solid-state batteries – even though current batteries are primarily installed in electric buses. Unfortunately, the averages do not give possible performance data for the electric car batteries that use these new anodes. All that is said is that these batteries should be powerful, less expensive and more environmentally friendly.
There are also plans for a production facility that will initially produce between 100 and 300 MWh of anode materials per year in 2023. Li-Metal claims this will bring it “closer to market readiness.” However, there are no further details on the plant as yet. So it’s unclear whether it will be located more at Toronto-based Li-Metal or at Blue Solutions in France. However, Blue Solutions also has a unit in Montreal, so Canada is a likely location.
“Blue Solutions is the only manufacturer in the market today producing and selling an all-solid-state lithium metal battery for real-life applications running on every continent, and this JD/CA will further enable Li-Metal to pioneer lithium metal anode technologies in next-generation batteries for the EV industry,” said Maciej Jastrzebski, co-founder and CEO of Li-Metal.
“We have the greatest confidence in the talent for innovation that the Li-Metal team will bring to this common development that will contribute to solidifying our position as the world leader in lithium metal anode design and production,” says Alain Vallée, General Manager of Blue Solutions Canada.
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