ASX-listed Syrah Resources has entered an exclusive research and development agreement with Cadenza Innovation to accelerate advances in energy storage.

The agreement between Syrah Resources and Cadenza Innovation will fuel advancements in graphite anode technology for use in lithium-ion-based energy storage.

Cadenza Innovation is based in the United States and is a pioneering provider of energy storage solutions for license to lithium-ion battery pack manufacturers.

Under the terms of the agreement, Syrah Resources and Cadenza Innovation will engage in the development and testing of advanced battery anode materials (BAM), marking a strong commitment to the development of proprietary downstream technology.

Cadenza Innovation will establish an “office of the chief technology officer” to lead knowledge exchange, deep technical partner and customer engagement, and support the BAM processing plant Syrah Resources is establishing in Louisiana.

Syrah Resources will embed key personnel within Cadenza Innovation’s internationally recognised research, design and engineering team.

Additionally, the combined team will develop Syrah Resources’ carbon materials using a natural graphite base.

The agreement provides for compensation in the form of service fees in the first phase, and should the second phase of product development result in material commercial sales of spherical graphite which uses developed intellectual property or patent rights arising from the development and services agreement, a combination of service fees and royalties would be payable by Syrah Resources to Cadenza Innovation for sales of the relevant BAM products.

An assessment of performance will be made after the first phase which will determine whether Syrah Resources and Cadenza Innovation enter the second phase for product development.

Cadenza Innovation founder and CEO Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud, who currently serves on the Syrah Resources board as a non-executive director says, “As developers and champions of safer, higher performing and more sustainable battery technology, we are thrilled to partner with a global leader in graphite.

“Syrah Resources’ core business tenets align with our foundational design and development principles, and we look forward to a highly successful collaboration in which our team can once again advance the state-of-the-art in lithium-ion technology.”

“With the forecast growth and increasing adoption of EVs, and proliferation of grid storage applications, the lithium-ion battery market continues its strong growth trajectory,” says Syrah Resources MD and CEO Shaun Verner.

“Working with Cadenza Innovation to develop advanced BAM is the ideal step to ensure we capitalise on this tremendous business opportunity.”

https://www.miningreview.com/news/syrah-resources-finalises-agreement-cadenza-innovation/