Battery materials technology specialist Nano One TSX:NANO has been granted two more patents in Japan and has also received approximately C$1.8 million in non-dilutive, non-repayable contributions from Sustainable Development Technology Canada and the British Columbia Innovative Clean Energy fund toward the fourth and final milestone of its Scaling Advanced Battery Materials project.
The two Japanese patents relate to Nano One’s One-Pot formation of niobium coated spinel and to a method of forming lithium mixed metal oxides such as lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide. Their granting is significant, as we know from previous statements that the company is working with at least one undisclosed Asian OEM.
Nano One is a clean technology company with a patented, scalable and low carbon intensity industrial process for the low-cost production of high-performance lithium-ion battery cathode materials. The technology is applicable to electric vehicle, energy storage, consumer electronic and next generation batteries in the global push for a zero-emission future.
Development of these patents has been supported in part by advisory services and research and development funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program and brings Nano One’s granted patents to a total of 24 with approximately 47 patents pending in various jurisdictions around the world.
“Nano One has seen tremendous growth during this SDTC project,” said Nano One CTO Dr. Stephen Campbell, “and this has helped us transition to the final milestone. We have advanced our technology and added to our partnerships, made a significant acquisition, and landed an important strategic investment. With these recent patent issuances, we continue to execute successfully on the expansion and value of our intellectual property portfolio. This latest project contribution from SDTC and BC-ICE is a strong endorsement of our progress, goals, and path to commercialization.”
Nano One grows team in Canada
Nano One had previously tripled the footprint of its innovation hub in Burnaby B.C. and during this third milestone of 10 months, the company has grown its team by approximately 60% to over 60 people, acquired significant pieces of equipment and scaled its third-party sampling capabilities for lithium iron phosphate and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide.
During this period, Nano One also made patent applications, process and equipment improvements, and added LFP its metal to cathode active material activities.
Coupled with third-party engineering studies and extensive economic modeling, Nano One has demonstrated, in confidence to existing and potential partners, competitive reductions in its cost estimates and an advantageous environmental footprint for future commercial scale plant and operations.
Strong group of strategic partners
Furthermore, Nano One added a strategic investment by Rio Tinto, and co-development programs with BASF, Johnson Matthey, CBMM, Euro Manganese, and several undisclosed automotive OEMs and materials companies, all relating to LFP and NMC cathodes, and supporting the SDTC project objectives.
In addition, Nano One’s pending acquisition of Johnson Matthey Battery Materials Canada and their LFP business in Candiac, Québec, will help fast track commercialization efforts.
Support for the Scaling Advanced Battery Materials project from SDTC and BC-ICE was previously announced on May 31, 2019 and May 6, 2020, respectively, and this is the third installment towards $8.2M in project contributions over 4 milestones.
