Brisbane-based battery material supplier Novonix has received a $A200 million cash injection after US chemicals and refining company Phillips 66 acquired a 16% stake in the company.
The Houston based company Phillips 66 boasts assets worth $US57 billion and bills itself as “a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company” with a broad portfolio involving midstream, chemicals, and refining. It processes, transports, stores, and markets fuels and products globally.
The investment in Novonix – through its Emerging Energy unit that is focused on building a lower-carbon business platform – marks an important step, both for the company itself and the building of battery supply routes in the US.
“This strategic investment enables Phillips 66 to directly support the development of the US battery supply chain,” said Greg Garland, the chairman and CEO of Phillips 66.
“It advances our commitment to pursue lower-carbon solutions while leveraging our leadership position and expertise in the specialty coke market and supporting Novonix’s emerging position in US-based anode production.”
Novonix – which currently boasts operations in Australia, the United States, and Canada – is a leading producer of synthetic graphite, made by processing specialty coke to make high-performance anode materials for EV batteries.
“Phillips 66’s investment will provide us with the capital needed to support growth and ongoing R&D as we continue to scale our synthetic graphite production and develop new technologies for higher-performance energy storage applications,” said Chris Burns, Novonix CEO and co-founder.
The announcement comes nearly two months after Novonix agreed to purchase and retrofit an existing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The factory acquisition makes it the second facility to be owned by Novonix in the area and will accommodate a planned 8,000+ tonne-per-year production operation.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.