By Gabriela Farhangi<\/b><\/p>\n
Africa-Press – Mozambique. <\/strong><\/span>London-listed Alkemy Capital Investments said Tuesday<\/b> its new subsidiary Tees Valley Graphite (TVG) is studying a 50-50 joint venture with Australia-listed Syrah Resources. The firms signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a commercial-scale AMM plant at the Wilton International Chemicals Park, in the Teesside Freeport \u2013 where Alkemy\u2019s Tees Valley Lithium is developing a lithium refinery.<\/p>\n The proposed joint venture will process Syrah\u2019s natural graphite from its Balama operations in Mozambique into AMM to supply OEMs in the UK and European battery markets.<\/p>\n Initial production is planned at 20,000 tonnes\/year of AMM.<\/p>\n TVG managing director Kien Huynh told Kallanish that first production is expected in around four years, subject to a final investment decision. The timeframe is based on around two years to conclude the feasibility work (definitive feasibility study and front-end engineering design) and two years for construction.<\/p>\n Syrah and Alkemy intend to enter into a binding JV agreement \u201cin the near-term,\u201d which will pave the way for a \u00a3250-300 million ($316.5-378m) investment in the UK\u2019s battery supply chain. The project is set to be financed through green bonds, in combination with a mix of debt, strategic equity finance and grant funding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that the evaluation of the Wilton AAM facility is a very timely development as UK and European customers grow increasingly concerned over potential future supply shortages especially in light of the recent export restrictions imposed by China,\u201d notes Huynh.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite headwinds seen over the past 12 months for the entire sector, the medium to longer term narrative hasn\u2019t changed,\u201d the executive adds. \u201cThe global decarbonisation and energy transition economy will continue to grow over the coming decades, which will see the supply of critical minerals such as graphite, go into deficit as there is a shortage of both upstream and in particular, downstream\/midstream processing capabilities outside of China, to meet rising global demand.\u201d<\/p>\n Citing third-party data, Alkemy says graphite demand will increase to around 6.5 million tonnes by 2033, from roughly 1m t in 2022. The need for localised and diverse supply chains, offers the Wilton AMM project a \u201cpromising future,\u201d the company says.<\/p>\n The planned facility will offer European EV and energy storage markets a \u201clow-carbon, ESG-compliant, and traceable source of natural graphite active anode material,\u201d Huynh adds.<\/p>\n Syrah has a graphite production capacity of 350,000 t\/y at its Balama Operation, in Southern Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique. The company is also working to expand AMM production in Louisiana, US with the Vidalia project. The facility currently has capacity to produce 11,250 t\/y of AMM, but a project expansion to 45,000 t\/y is expected to be approved before July.<\/p>\n For More News And Analysis About Mozambique<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Gabriela Farhangi Africa-Press – Mozambique. London-listed Alkemy Capital Investments said Tuesday its new subsidiary Tees Valley Graphite (TVG) is studying a 50-50 joint venture with Australia-listed Syrah Resources. The firms signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a commercial-scale AMM plant at the Wilton International Chemicals Park, in the Teesside Freeport \u2013 where Alkemy\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":55087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[233,281,283],"class_list":["post-55088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mozambique","tag-mozambique"],"yoast_head":"\n