Norway supports Vianode’s anode material factory
The grant will be used to develop the anode material factory in Herøya, which will be operational in the second half of 2024. The funding from the Norwegian government is part of the Battery IPCEI, which means the EU has approved it. Vianode already received 90 million euros from the EU for the site in Herøya last year. When the plant was announced in September 2022, it was stated that Vianode would invest around two billion Norwegian kroner (around 195 million euros at the exchange rate at the time) in the site.
Numerous battery projects have also been subsidised in Germany as part of the “Important Projects of Common European Interest” (IPCEI). In Norway, Vianode has set itself the goal of producing high-performance anode graphite solutions for three million electric vehicles per year in Europe and North America by 2030. The company began small-scale production of synthetic anode graphite in 2021 and is currently operating its pilot plant and technology centre in Kristiansand. Volume production will then take place in Herøya.
At up to 70 kilograms per battery cell, anode graphite is the largest component of a lithium-ion battery in terms of weight and, according to Vianode, “a key element regardless of battery technology.” Most natural graphite comes from China, which is why there is a high dependency on this material – artificial or synthetic graphite has not been available in the required quantities in Europe until now.
Vianode’s solution will reduce dependency and limit the environmental impact. According to the company, it results in “a 90 per cent reduction in CO2 footprint compared to conventional production, a 40 per cent reduction in energy use and substantially reduced supplementary material consumption, local emissions, land use and water consumption.”
“Vianode is ambitiously aiming to enhance the sustainability of batteries and electric vehicles by creating a new benchmark for producing battery materials,” says CEO Burkhard Straube. “The backing from IPCEI is crucial in reaching this goal. Solid and supportive regulatory frameworks are indispensable to build the required momentum for a lithium-ion battery ecosystem in Norway and Europe.”
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