Lithium Australia Limited’s (ASX: LIT) wholly-owned subsidiary VSPC Pty Ltd has completed an engineering study for a pre-qualification pilot plant (PQPP Study) to satisfy customer offtake requirements by increased sample volume requirements above VSPC’s current facility capacity.
Assessment of a pre-qualification pilot plant (PQPP) development is an essential step towards the commercialisation of at least a 10,000 tpa lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) manufacturing facility using nano technology developed by VSPC.
Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd was engaged to provide management, engineering and procurement services for the PQPP Study.
The PQPP Study supports commercialisation of VSPC’s technology, including discussions with potential offtake or joint development partners.
A strategic focus of the PQPP Study was completion of equipment design test work and selection of process equipment from Western based vendors. Outcomes from strategic Western sourced equipment testing and selection will be leveraged for the commercial facility design and allow VSPC to assess options for government funding.
Facility
Concurrently with the completion of the PQPP Study, samples of LFP cathode materials have been tested by new potential partners in South Korea and the USA. Significantly, these jurisdictions are seeking to onshore supply chains to reduce Chinese dominance with targeted policy changes.
Currently, China accounts for over 99% of the global LFP market, which is forecast to grow from 400,000 t in 2021 to over 3,000,000 t by 2030 Despite its modest size, commercialisation of VSPC’s technology would position it as a significant (non-Chinese) producer of that product.
The supply of reliable cathode materials is fundamental to this and VSPC is one of only a handful of companies outside of China, capable of producing LFP.
Feedback from testing of the samples has been positive and VSPC is working with these companies, and others, to determine potential partnerships including offtake and joint development agreements to commercialise its LFP production technology.
