Australia’s Altech secures permit to build sodium-ion battery factory in Germany

Altech Advanced Materials AG, the German-listed subsidiary of Perth-based Altech Batteries, has received environmental and construction approval for its 120 MWh CERENERGY® GridPack production facility in Saxony, Germany.

The company initiated the application process in September 2023. Its stated goal was to commercialize its sodium chloride solid state battery technology in collaboration with German battery institute Fraunhofer IKTS, which will remain a 25% joint venture partner in the CERENERGY factory. Now, with the milestone approvals secured, the company will move forward with site clearing and construction, pending the successful completion of project financing.

Altech expects investment costs for the CERENERGY battery plant to total around EUR 156 million. The newly secured permits are expected to have a positive influence on the ongoing talks with potential investors. 

A definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the 120 MWh CERENERGY® project ran alongside the permitting process project and was completed in March 2024. It included compelling economics, even at the relatively small first production line capacity. At full production capacity of 120 1 MWh GridPacks, the company’s DFS for the project indicates a pre-tax net present value of €169 million, annual revenue of €106 million, a €51 million EBITDA and a 3.7-year payback period.

The vision and strategy for the CERENERGY® project, however, is to reach gigawatt-scale manufacturing capacity, and Altech has the worldwide rights of manufacturing, licensing and distribution of this product.

A few preparatory measures for the construction of the CERENERGY battery plant have already been completed. The final assembly of the first CERENERGY battery prototype “BatteryPack ABS60” was carried out in cooperation with Fraunhofer IKTS in Dresden. Extensive tests have exceeded expectations. In addition, letters of intent were signed with a total of three companies for the acceptance of the majority of the plant’s planned production capacity.

Uwe Ahrens, CEO of Altech Advanced Materials AG, said: “The CERENERGY project is now ready for implementation at an operational level. The market is waiting for our innovative battery technology, as the letters of intent that have already been signed clearly demonstrate.”

According to Altech’s German project website, the manufacturer expects to be able to offer its batteries at a price between EUR 700 and 900 per kilowatt hour.

Novel technology

Altech’s CERENERGY® sodium alumina solid state 60 kWh battery pack (ABS60) are integrated in its pre-installed solution: 1 MWh GridPack (ABS1000) designed for the renewable energy and grid storage market. However, the company expects its innovative battery technology to be in strong demand from a range of industries, from data centres to the heavy industry steel and chemical sectors and deliver an improved grid-scale energy storage solution.

CERENERGY® batteries operate in extreme hot and cold environments with an operating temperature range of -20°C to +60 °C, have a lifespan of more than 15 years, and are extremely safe. Specifically, they do not contain flammable liquid electrolyte or plastic separators; the electrolyte is a solid inflammable ceramic tube that allows sodium ions to transfer through it. Moreover, due to its chemistry, the battery does not contain oxides nor generate oxygen at the cathode like a lithium-ion battery does during thermal runaway.

Developed by IKTS, a CERENERGY® battery’s ceramic tube houses a positive terminal in the center of it and performs the same function as a liquid electrolyte in a lithium-ion battery, allowing sodium ions to transfer through it. To ensure contact between the solid cathode granules and the ceramic electrolyte tube, the tube is flooded with sodium aluminium chloride medium.

The ceramic tube is housed in a steel canister which acts as the negative terminal. The positive and negative terminal tabs are installed at the top of the cell for electrons transfer and connection to other cells. Each cell operates at 2.58V and a collection of 40 cells are installed in a refractory insulated module casing. Each module is rated at 10 kWh and 100 Ah.

The CERENERGY® batteries provide energy density of around 110- 130 Wh/kg. They charge over four-six hours and discharge over similar times. The battery can be configured to meet greater than 600 V that is required in grid storage.

Altech said in October 2024 that a prototype 60 kWh sodium chloride solid state battery energy storage pack installed at Fraunhofer IKTS’ test laboratory in Germany passed all physical tests with “flying colors.”

“Initial results from the testing are extremely promising,” the company said in a statement, adding that the battery has “outperformed early expectations, exhibiting exceptional efficiency and robust performance across all key metrics.”

“Notably, the battery has maintained excellent thermal stability, a crucial factor in high-capacity energy storage systems.”

Altech said key results from more than 500 cycles demonstrated stable performance, including a consistent discharge capacity of 80 Ah and an efficiency of up to 91%. The company said discharge and overcharge stress and abuse tests were conducted on almost 500 individual cells, including at operational temperature of up to 300 degrees Celsius, without any cell failures.