US battery materials firm Mitra Chem has formed a partnership with ceramics materials firm Saint-Gobain Ceramics to accelerate the production of lithium iron manganese phosphate (LMFP) cathode materials.
LMFP is a variant of the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry which manyautomakers have plans to use in the future.
LMFP has the potential improve the energy density of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries at low cost, and avoids the use of materials such as nickel and cobalt.
Until recently the chemistry had primarily been pioneered by Chinese manufacturers, but Mitra Chem has been looking to manufacture in the US – developing a supply chain that would be compliant with the criteria for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
“Mitra Chem's core expertise in developing state of the art LMFP and next generation iron-based cathodes together with Saint-Gobain's proven manufacturing technology for specialty ceramics lays the foundation for IRA-compliant manufacturing of LMFP cathode materials that is also environmentally sustainable", says Chirranjeevi Gopal, CTO and co-founder of Mitra Chem.
The two firms have already produced a proof of concept and an economic feasibility assessment for the battery chemistry.
"We view the partnership with Mitra Chem a critical step in the commercialisation of current and future generations of materials for lithium-ion batteries," says Mark Hampden-Smith, VP of Technology Acceleration of Saint-Gobain Ceramics.
At the end last year Mitra Chem shipped commercial-grade LMFP samples to major global EV manufacturers and battery cell makers.
Germany's VW also has an agreement in place with Chinese battery firm Gotion, which is developing long-range LMFP batteries in conjunction with conventional LFP cells.
Tom is an experienced business writer, specialised in the energy transition
Tom is passionate about Electric Vehicles and how Tesla, BYD, Rivian, Lucid and others are transforming automotive
