Norwegian electrochemical company Elkem is considering building a plant for the large-scale production of graphene for batteries in Norway. The plant should produce graphene with low CO2 emissions, which Elkem wants to use to make batteries greener.
Elkem is a Norwegian electrochemical company founded in 1904 as Det Norske Aktieselskap for Elektrokemisk Industri. Since 1969, the company has carried the name Elkem. The Norwegian organisation is headquartered in Skøyen near Oslo. The company has around 3,600 employees.
Graphene
Graphene is a key component of lithium-ion batteries and acts as an anode. As a result, demand for graphene is expected to increase tenfold by 2030.
With the new project, called Northern Recharge, Elkem is responding. The company says it wants the plant to contribute to a strong European battery industry. The electrochemical company also aims to create a new Norwegian export sector based on sustainable hydropower.
Pilot project
The company is currently conducting a pilot project on graphene production. Based on this, the company will evaluate industrial production of graphene. As a possible production site, the company chooses Herøya Industrial Park, one of Norway's largest industrial parks. The final decision on the arrival of the plant is expected to be made in 2021.
"The production of battery materials is one of the biggest growth opportunities for Elkem. The demand for batteries is growing rapidly as a sense of the electrification of transport and the increasing need for energy storage in a sustainable future. This requires new production capacity for battery materials and we see significant opportunities for a specialised product with a green footprint," explains Michael Koenig, CEO of Elkem.
Access to renewable energy
Stian Madshus, vice president of Elkem Battery Materials, points to the easy access to renewable energy from the Herøya Industrial Park. "We are pleased to announce that we have selected Herøya Industrial Park as the site for our Northern Recharge project. This will allow us to build a very cost-effective plant with good access to renewable energy, which has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% compared to fossil fuel-based alternatives. We also provide a short distance to our pilot plant and internationally leading research environments within materials technology," Madshus said.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
