Kolkata-based global specialty chemical company, Himadri has announced an investment of Australian $10.32 million (Rs 58 crore) in Sicona Battery Technologies (Sicona).
Himadri says its decision to invest in Sicona aligns with its vision to produce high-quality anode materials and reinforces its commitment to exploring innovative technologies in the battery material segment.
The investment by Himadri will accelerate product and technology development for Sicona and expedite the commercial deployment of this technology.
As part of its strategic investment, Himadri will have two nominee directors on Sicona’s board, enabling close collaboration and synergy between the two companies.
Anurag Choudhary, Chairman & MD, Himadri Speciality Chemical said: “We are delighted to acquire a stake in Sicona Battery Technologies. Sicona’s ground-breaking research and cost-effective and highly scalable approach to silicon anode manufacturing perfectly complement our strategic objectives. Sicona is working towards solving some of the most important challenges and needs of the world today.”
Christiaan Jordaan, Founder & CEO, Sicona said: “Welcoming one of the leading global specialty chemical companies as a strategic investor in our Series A round allows us to accelerate our mission of becoming a major producer of cost-effective silicon composite anode materials. Himadri has a multi-decade track record of manufacturing materials at scale and their expertise and inputs will be a major asset to us in the next phases of our growth plans. Furthermore, Himadri’s current strength in synthetic anode materials has strong synergies with our silicon anode technology.”
“Our silicon metal-based technology decouples us from the major bottlenecks and cost implications of silane gas-based technologies and provides our customers the confidence that we can deliver a silicon-carbon anode material at a capital intensity and $/kg price which is feasible for mass-automotive market adoption,” added Jordaan.
Based in Sydney Sicona is a startup specializing in high-capacity silicon anode technology for lithium-ion batteries.
It has developed next-generation battery materials technology used in the anodes (negative electrodes) of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for electric mobility and renewable energy storage applications.
The start-ups current generation silicon-composite anode technology is claimed to deliver 50-100 percent higher capacity than conventional graphite anodes and its anode materials can deliver more than 50 percent higher cell energy density than current Li-ion batteries.