Brazil’s CBMM, which specializes in the production and commercialization of niobium products, has inaugurated the world’s first volume manufacturing facility dedicated to producing Echion Technologies’ proprietary fast-charging active anode material technology.
The new plant, located in Araxá in the state of Minas Gerais, is the largest niobium-based anode production facility in the world, capable of producing 2,000 tonnes of battery material per year, equivalent to 1 GWh of lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells.
According to Echion, its niobium-based anode material, XNO, enables Li-ion batteries to fast charge safely, maintain high energy densities even at extreme temperatures, and deliver high power across a cycle life of more than 10,000 cycles.
XNO has been specifically engineered to allow electrified heavy-duty industrial, commercial, and mass-transport vehicles to operate with the highest productivity and the lowest total cost of ownership, the UK-based Echion said.
This facility enables Echion to mass-produce XNO at scale to meet the worldwide demand for the product, the company added, as the partnership with CBMM ensures a robust and reliable supply chain for XNO.
The opening marks a major step forward in the companies’ joint goal of expanding the use of niobium in battery production, CBMM said in a separate statement.
At the event last week, Jean de La Verpilliere, CEO of Echion Technologies, said the opening of the production plant creates robust supply capacity to meet the significant commercial demand.
“XNO is already having a positive impact on our cell manufacturing customers, downstream OEMs and end-users. Echion is beginning to trade at scale,” he said.
