Altech Advanced Materials AG: Planned Silumina Anodes plant focusing on nanocoated silicon achieves an increase in annual output capacity from 15 GWh to 120 GWh in terms of equivalent battery capacity

• Conversion of the Silumina Anodes plant planning for ceramic-coated anode material from 90 % graphite and 10 % silicon anode composite material to 100 % silicon
• The planned Schwarze-Pumpe plant for the production of exclusively metallurgical silicon will then have an annual output of 8000 tons
• With an anode mixing ratio of 10/90 at the battery manufacturer, a battery capacity of approx. 120 GWh/year can be realized.
• The addition of 10 % Silumina Anodes leads to a 30 % higher performance or energy density of the battery
• The modified technical planning and design of the industrial production plant for Silumina Anodes in Schwarze Pumpe, Saxony, has been completed and the feasibility study (DFS) is to be finalized and published in 2023

Heidelberg (16.11.2023): Altech Advanced Materials AG (FRA: AMA1) announces that as part of the finalization of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) of the Silumina Anodes project, it has been decided to focus the entire manufacturing capacity on silicon. This technical adjustment will be realized at no additional cost. Originally, Altech had planned to produce 10,000 tons per year (t/y) of Silumina Anodes as a composite material consisting of 1,000 t/y of high purity alumina-coated metallurgical grade silicon (10%) incorporated into 9,000 t/y of similarly coated graphite (90%), according to the Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS). The plant is now designed for the production of alumina-coated metallurgical silicon with an annual output of 8,000 t/y. This product will be integrated into the anode graphite by the customers in their battery factories and not in the Altech plant. This change in production strategy significantly increases the equivalent battery capacity of Altech's active anode material Silumina Anodes from 15 GWh to 120 GWh per year.

This allows battery manufacturers to utilize existing and already qualified graphite, which is of primary interest based on discussions with potential customers. Although there is an advantage to using alumina-coated graphite, the main benefit for potential customers is to integrate Altech's performance-enhancing coated silicon into their battery products. By focusing on the silicon, battery manufacturers can produce more batteries with a 30% increase in performance by adding 10% with similar production parameters.

It is expected that this latest adjustment to "100% silicon" will lead to significant improvements in the overall economic balance of the project and allow for an improved feasibility study.

Battery manufacturers have the choice of either producing batteries with a higher energy density or maintaining their current energy density while reducing the graphite content and thus the overall weight and volume of the battery. This is expected to be an attractive competitive advantage in electromobility. Reducing graphite consumption will not only reduce the cost of manufacturing batteries but will also enable a reduction in dependence on anode graphite from Chinese sources, which today supplies 90% of all anode graphite worldwide. Particularly in light of the recent news about export restrictions on anode graphite, interest from battery manufacturers in Europe and the USA has increased.

Altech is currently in discussions with Ferroglobe, Altech's European silicon partner, to secure the supply of metallurgical grade silicon for the expanded Silumina Anodes project. In addition, the company has entered into non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with leading automotive groups in Europe and the United States that have shown strong interest in acquiring commercial samples of Silumina Anodes material for their testing and qualification processes. The required quantities of larger samples will be provided from the pilot plant in Schwarze Pumpe, Saxony. The pilot plant is currently being commissioned and is nearing completion and is expected to commence operations early next year.

Uwe Ahrens, Board Member of Altech Advanced Materials AG: "With this strategic adjustment in our production, we are killing several birds with one stone: Coated silicon, as the decisive future material for much more efficient batteries, will be available on the market in much higher quantities in a shorter time. At the same time, battery manufacturers have the option of using their own graphite in the drop-in process and are therefore able to cover the large capacities required. The corresponding increase in performance compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries can thus be achieved more quickly and enables further performance-enhancing potential for the entire battery range in the competition between Western battery manufacturers, not just for exclusive high-performance vehicles. We also expect this to result in a higher margin for our investment.

About Silumina Anodes
The Altech Group has developed a wet-technology method for coating the anode material of a battery with high-purity aluminum oxide in the nanometer range in a cost-effective and high-quality industrial standard. By coating silicon with high-purity aluminum oxide and adding the material to the usual graphite anode material, the performance of the battery can be increased. With an admixture of 10 %, an increase in performance of more than 30 % has been confirmed in laboratory tests, as silicon has ten times the energy storage capacity of graphite. Until now, however, silicon could not be used in commercial lithium-ion batteries because silicon particles expand by up to 300% during the battery charging process. This leads to partial failure of the battery. At the same time, lithium ions attach themselves to the anode as a separating layer and are thus deactivated, meaning they are no longer available for the energy flow. Although this also happens with pure graphite anodes, this negative effect is much stronger with silicon-containing anodes and leads to an initial charging loss of up to 50% of the theoretical battery capacity. These side effects have so far negated the potential benefits of adding silicon. The Altech Group has succeeded in coating silicon in the nanometer range and thus largely overcoming the problems described.

About Altech Advanced Materials AG
Altech Advanced Materials AG (ISIN: DE000A31C3Y4 and DE000A31C3Z1), based in Frankfurt am Main, is a holding company listed on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company's aim is to participate in the market for lithium-ion batteries for electromobility with innovative and high-performance anode material based on high-purity aluminum oxide (HPA) - Silumina Anodes. Another focus is on solid-state batteries for stationary battery use with CERENERGY.

Further information is available at: www.altechadvancedmaterials.com

About Advanced Materials AG
Board: Iggy Tan, Uwe Ahrens, Hansjörg Plaggemars
Ziegelhäuser Landstraße 3
69120 Heidelberg
[email protected]
Tel: + 49 6221 649 2482
www.altechadvancedmaterials.com

Press contact
Ralf Droz / Doron Kaufmann, edicto GmbH
Tel: +49 (0) 69 905505-54
E-Mail: [email protected]