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Epsilon ties up with Finnish company Grafintec to establish anode material production facility in Vaasa

Finnish company Grafintec Oy and Indian company Epsilon Advanced Materials have made a plot reservation and signed a MoU with the City of Vaasa (Finland) to establish an anode materials production facility in the GigaVaasa area. Given that currently nearest plants producing anode materials are in Asia, this MoU is significant for the entire European battery industry.

The JV formed between Grafintec Oy and Epsilon Advanced Materials will build the anode material production facility in two phases. The first phase will build a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes per annum, GVA10, and the second phase will add a 40,000 tonnes per annum more to the first phase, creating GVA50. Grafintec will own 49% of the JV and Epsilon Advanced Materials will own 51%.

“The proposed plant will be an important supplier for the battery/cell manufacturing companies in Europe, complementing Epsilon Advanced Materials growing anode materials business in India”, said Vikram Handa, Managing Director of Epsilon Advanced Materials.

“Following my September visit to India and discussions with Epsilon, it was clear that an anode materials production facility was the missing piece in the jigsaw at GigaVaasa. I was enthused by the warm and collaborative welcome I received when visiting the City of Vaasa in mid-October, and I am pleased that we have taken a significant step forward to complete the battery value chain in the GigaVaasa area”, comments Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf.

About GigaVaasa Industrial Area

The cover image presents (source: Vaasa website) the future GigaVaasa area as a whole. The now signed Memorandum of understanding concerns one of the plots in the area.

The GigaVaasa industrial area is dedicated to battery value chain manufacturing. This industrial zone is well placed logistically and more than 160 energy technology companies are located in the Vaasa region, said a company statement issued by Epsilon Advanced Materials. In April 2021, the British chemicals MNC Johnson Matthey made the first reservation for GigaVaasa area to invest in a sustainable battery materials plant. In November 2021, Johnson Matthey announced the sale of its battery materials business. However, Vaasa continues to negotiate with the future new owner of the company. August 2021, Norweign battery company FREYR Battery chose Vaasa as the location of a battery cell plant.

Also Read: How Epsilon Carbon is taking first steps towards battery material production in India

About the companies

Grafintec is a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Beowulf Mining plc producing critical raw materials, which includes iron ore, graphite and base metals.

Epsilon Advanced Materials is a subsidiary of Epsilon Carbon Private Limited (“Epsilon Carbon Group”). Epsilon Carbon supplies a wide range of products and performance solutions to some of the largest customers in industries as diverse as aluminium, carbon black, tires, mechanical rubber goods, graphite, specialty and construction chemicals, dyes and pigments, amongst others. 

The manufacturing unit for coal tar allied products caters to 40 percent of the pitch demand in India’s aluminium industry, the company claims.

Epsilon Advanced Materials was established in 2018 to mark its entry into Lithium-Ion Battery space. Its vision is to develop and manufacture innovative, high performance, high quality and sustainable carbon products for anode components of lithium-ion Batteries (LIB).

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