European patent for VSPC nano-powder production granted

SYDNEY: Lithium Australia NL announced that its subsidiary VSPC Ltd has received European patent for VSPC nano-powder production.

The European Patent Office has granted the VSPC patent entitled ‘Method for Producing Fine-Grained particles (EP 1 812 340 B1)’.

This technology is relevant to advanced nano-structured materials used in a wide variety of existing and emerging technologies, including catalytic materials for automobiles and chemical refining. It is also applicable to electrochemical applications, batteries, super capacitors and fuel cells, all of which are important in terms of global energy transformation.

Fine-grained metal-oxide and nano materials require consistency of chemical composition and crystal structure. As such, they are often difficult and expensive to produce via conventional methods involving inefficient and energy-intensive process steps.

Typically, these materials perform better when characterised by very small particles with a high surface area for a given volume of material.

Traditional methods of manufacturing nano-metal-oxides generally involve extensive milling of solids produced from solid-state synthesis or precipitation from solution.

VSPC’s technology, however, adopts a simple, solution-based approach using surfactants and thermal processing to produce consistent nano-structured materials. This now-patented process technology, which is scaleable, is relevant to wide range of advanced oxide materials and technological applications.

As a developer of high-performance battery cathode materials, VSPC is strongly focused on LFP-based cathode powders, plus derivatives that enhance their quality and performance, including LMFP. VSPC’s advanced cathode powders are manufactured at its pilot plant and R&D facility in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Comment from Adrian Griffin, managing director of Lithium Australia: “VSPC has been granted a European patent for the production of complex metal-oxide nanoparticles. A low-cost process, it accurately controls the chemical composition and distribution of the chemical elements within in a predetermined crystal structure.

The resulting products can be used in many applications, among them catalysts, solid-oxide fuel cells, super conductors and lithium-ion batteries(‘LIBs’), to name but a few. This greatly enhances Lithium Australia’s arsenal of intellectual property and reinforces our position as a significant supplier of innovative technology to the battery industry.”

Lithium Australia NL aims to ensure an ethical and sustainable supply of energy metals to the battery industry (enhancing energy security in the process) by creating a circular battery economy. https://lithium-au.com/

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