Syrah Resources Limited (ASX: SYR, Syrah or the Company) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud as a Non-Executive Director of the Company.

Dr. Lampe-Onnerud is a USA-based authority in battery system innovation and design, with 20 years of experience in the research and development and commercialization of lithium-ion battery technologies for consumer electronics, electric automotive and energy storage applications.

Among her accomplishments, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud founded Boston-Power Inc. (Boston-Power), a developer of high-energy, cost-effective, longer lasting and safer battery “building blocks” that could be deployed into the portable electronics, transportation and utility energy storage markets. Recognizing the tremendous opportunity for its technology and products, GSR Ventures led a $125 million dollar (US) funding round in the company in 2011. Subsequently, Boston-Power dedicated its focus to China, where today its batteries are used in thousands of vehicles across that country.

Most recently, Dr. Lampe-Onnerud serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cadenza Innovation, an early stage company she founded to developed high-performance, low cost battery technologies. In that role, she oversees a global patent portfolio while leading partnerships with major global electric drive and energy storage suppliers.

Previous career highlights of Dr. Lampe-Onnerud include:

• Lauded as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum Technology, she has been similarly honored by prestigious organizations that include from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Wall Street Journal, TED, Time Magazine, The Cleantech Group, The Swedish Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences and the Swedish Association of Environmental Managers
• Member of the Senior Management team at Bridgewater Associates LP, the world’s largest hedge fund with US$160 billion in assets under management
• Recruited as one of the youngest partners at Arthur D. Little, an international management consultancy firm, to lead its battery laboratories where she defined strategies for top chemical and battery organizations and directed high-profile market evaluations
• Director and Senior Scientist at Bell Communications Research where prototypes for the first lithium-ion batteries were developed from thin-film polymers and the first practical process for their manufacture.

Dr. Lampe-Onnerud has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and Calculus, and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Uppsala in Sweden, which was followed by Post-Doctoral work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.

Chairman Jim Askew commented: “We are delighted with the addition of Dr. Lampe-Onnerud to the Board of Syrah. Christina’s extensive technical knowledge and commercial experience in the lithium-ion battery sector adds a skill directly relevant to our strategy of the addressing supply of Balama spherical graphite to the lithium-ion battery industry.”

Dr. Lampe-Onnerud commented: “I am excited to join the Board of Syrah Resources as it grows into a large, dependable key materials supplier as well as a partner to innovators and manufacturers in the lithium-ion battery market world-wide. Fueled by the new energy paradigm involving energy storage for electricity and transportation markets, this global industry will experience unprecedented growth for many years to come.”

About Syrah Resources

Syrah Resources (ASX code: SYR) is an Australian-based industrial minerals and technology company. Syrah is currently constructing the Balama graphite project (Balama) in Mozambique, with commercial production scheduled to commence in early 2017. Balama will be the largest global producer, by a substantial margin, of high purity graphite and hosts the world’s largest graphite Ore Reserve (JORC Code 2012 compliant), sufficient for over 40 years of production. Balama will produce approximately 380,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate annually and Syrah has secured offtake agreements for substantially all of this planned production, servicing traditional industrial applications.  

In addition, Syrah is in extensive product certification test work with potential customers for the use of Balama spherical graphite in the anode of lithium ion batteries. To underpin this interest by global lithium ion battery manufacturers, Syrah is currently undertaking engineering and commercial studies regarding the construction of a spherical graphite plant in south-eastern USA. This plant would take graphite production from Balama and subject it to further purification and mechanical processing to produce world class spherical product for battery anodes.

Source:

Syrah Resources Ltd (ABN 77 125 242 284). Level 9/356 Collins Street
Melbourne 3000 Australia Ph: 03 96707264