R&D
The R&D capabilities at VSPC’s Queensland plant enable the design and development of new and advanced energy materials – achieved via cutting-edge electrochemical testing and materials characterisation equipment and instrumentation that includes the following.
- Laboratory-scale anode and cathode material synthesis equipment for all stages of processing.
- Electrode fabrication facilities.
- Coin and pouch cell fabrication facilities and equipment.
- An 8-glove controlled atmosphere Argon glovebox.
- A 96-channel Maccor battery-testing system with four temperature chambers and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).
- An 8-channel Solartron CellTest 1470E EIS system.
- A Malvern PANalytical Aeris Research Benchtop X-ray diffractometer (XRD).
- A Malvern PANalytical Aeris particle-size analyser.
- A Micrometrics Tristar surface-area analyser.
- A Leco carbon analyser (residual carbon content).
- A tap-density analyser.
Pilot plant
At its Wacol pilot plant, VSPC can manufacture lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) and other battery materials according to commercial processes but on a reduced and cost-effective scale. Comprising reaction vessels, mills, furnaces, spray dryers and other process equipment, the plant has the flexibility to configure unit operations according to a variety of process flows. This enables VSPC to rapidly scale the manufacture of battery materials from laboratory synthesis through to the semi-commercial quantities required for product performance testing and qualification by commercial battery manufacturers. In addition, the plant provides valuable data and information for commercial-scale plant design, sizing and process optimisation.
VSPC – path to commercialisation
A definitive feasibility study for a 10,000 tonnes per annum LFP plant is in progress.