News Articles for Altech Batteries

Altech Chemicals' research in Germany on high purity alumina used in lithium-ion batteries shows that only the pinnacle quality of HPA is safe and efficient. The research underscores Altech's high quality “4N” HPA product and makes stark comparison to lower quality products sometimes used that were shown to leach sodium from the batteries and cause discharge problems.

Altech Chemicals has been given an official “green” classification for its Malaysian high purity alumina project from an independent research centre, opening the door to the “green bond market” that was valued at nearly USD$250b last year. Green bonds are an environmentally conscious financing instrument used by investors who are looking to invest in environmentally sustainable projects.

Altech Chemicals is continuing research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems in Dresden, Germany on HPA battery applications with a focus on lithium-ion battery separator technology and the impact of alumina impurities on battery safety. Altech also said this week that construction at its Malaysian HPA plant had been suspended due to the imposition of a COVID-19 movement control order.

Altech Chemicals is close to enlisting financial heavyweight, Macquarie, to provide USD$90m worth of mezzanine debt for its Malaysian HPA plant, potentially avoiding issuing a large slab of stock to get its project into production. In a London meeting held recently, Macquarie re-affirmed its interest in potentially providing the mezzanine debt for Altech's project that could spit out over AUD$100m a year in free cash, according to the company.

Altech Chemicals' green credentials for its disruptive new kaolin clay-based high purity alumina production processes appear to stack up well against the industry standard alkoxide process that uses high-grade aluminium metal as a feedstock, according to the Perth based company. Altech says its numbers show that its HPA process produces substantially fewer greenhouse gas emissions and consumes much less energy per tonne of HPA produced.

With billions of dollars being ploughed into new battery factories around the globe, Altech Chemicals says that its 4N high purity alumina product will potentially be in even greater demand in the next generation of “solid state” lithium-ion batteries. As the market looks to move away from liquid electrolyte batteries, Altech says its HPA will still be required and potentially in even greater quantities for solid state batteries.

Altech Chemicals is on the verge of breaking into the lucrative high purity alumina market after setting a furious pace for the construction of its high purity alumina plant in Malaysia that will draw almost pure kaolin clay feedstock from WA. The company says that construction is well ahead of schedule and that the electrical substation structure is due for completion by May 2020.

Altech Chemicals will update the resource estimate at its promising Kerrigan kaolin project near Hyden in the WA Wheatbelt after successfully completing a drilling program. Whilst the Meckering kaolin deposit will provide feedstock for Altech's soon-to-be-built HPA plant in Malaysia, Kerrigan also appears to host a high-purity kaolin deposit . Altech is partly financing its HPA plant with a loan that is guaranteed by the German Government.

A summary of the smaller deals from last week, which did not get included in our daily news coverage.

Altech Chemicals has effectively been given the go-ahead by a German corporate regulator to further rattle the tin in a USD$100 million fund raising that will provide a runway for the Perth company to breathe life into its proposed high purity alumina plant in Malaysia. High purity alumina is in demand from the electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery industry and from the LED lighting markets.

High purity alumina pioneer, Altech Chemicals, could take the global electronics sector by storm once its HPA product starts being used to help dissipate heat in semi-conductors. The enterprising ASX listed outfit, which plans to mine aluminous clays in WA before sending it to Malaysia for processing, could see its niche mineral used in the production of epoxy moulding compounds employed by the semi-conductor industry to improve heat dissipation.

Altech Chemicals is inching closer to production of high-purity alumina after completing Stage 1 of construction at its HPA plant in Malaysia, both on time and budget. The company is now progressing Stage 2, which includes the development of an on-site electrical substation for the processing facility. Altech will produce 4,500 tonnes a year of HPA sourced from pure kaolin clays in WA.

Altech Chemicals has been invited by the Saxony State Government in east Germany, to consider building a second HPA plant to lever off the burgeoning lithium-ion battery and EV manufacturing hub in that region. Saxony is one of the leading vehicle construction areas in Germany, with Volkswagen, BMW, Porsche and Daimler all operating plants in the State.

Altech Chemicals is proceeding with its German equity strategy to sell up to a 49% stake in its high purity alumina, or “HPA” project for USD$100 million to Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed company, Youbisheng Green Paper. Altech is also acquiring a 29% stake in Youbisheng, which will change its name to Altech Advanced Materials and seek to raise up to €70 million in new equity to fund the acquisition.

Altech Chemicals could sell up to 49% of its high purity alumina, or “HPA”, project for USD$100 million to Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed company, Youbisheng Green Paper, following strong expressions of interest from European investors. The company will pay about €2.7 million in cash and shares to acquire a 29% interest in Youbisheng, which will then seek to raise up to €70 million in new equity to fund the acquisition.

Altech Chemicals is well on the pathway towards producing high purity alumina in Malaysia with erection of the workshop steel frame and placement of its roof structure now nearing completion. In addition, construction of the retaining wall is now about 75% completed whilst work has started on the first of four on-site detention storm water tanks that will store all site storm water.

Altech Chemicals has reached another milestone on its journey towards becoming a significant high purity alumina, producer with the raising of the first steel column at its plant site in Johor, Malaysia. The plant in the Tanjung Industrial complex will produce up to 4,500 tonnes of HPA from very pure kaolin clays sourced from the company's shallow open pit mine near Meckering in WA.

Altech Chemicals has raised $18 million via a share placement, with the proceeds to primarily go towards the company's high purity alumina (HPA) plant in Johor, Malaysia.

Altech Chemicals has raised $18m through a share placement to support the Stage 2 engineering and construction works for its high purity alumina plant in southern Malaysia. The company is planning to produce up to 4,500 tonnes annually of HPA at its Malaysian plant from very pure kaolin clays sourced from a shallow open pit mine near Meckering in WA, which has low levels of impurities.

Altech Chemicals continues to make good progress on the stage one construction of its high purity alumina, or “HPA”, processing plant in Johor, Malaysia, with initial site establishment activities now complete. The company recently appointed Macquarie Bank as the preferred mezzanine lender for the HPA plant. Completion of the mezzanine facility is conditional on the outcome of due diligence that is currently underway.

Altech Chemicals continues to progress its high purity alumina project with the company securing the development order for the processing plant in Johor, Malaysia. Site establishment works have now commenced and will be followed by the stage 1 construction works such as the bulk earthworks, construction of retaining walls and a maintenance workshop.

Altech Chemicals has been awarded a key patent from the Australian Patent Office for its proprietary process for the production of high purity alumina from all types of aluminous clay including kaolin, using hydrochloric acid. This enables the company to protect its intellectual property as it progresses development of its proposed HPA plant in Malaysia and associated kaolin mine near Meckering in WA.

Altech Chemicals is closing in on securing the balance of funds it requires for its high purity alumina project with due diligence on the proposed mezzanine debt facility expected to be completed by the end of November. Stage 1 construction of its HPA plant in Malaysia, which is already funded, will run in parallel to finance close.

Altech Chemicals has reported that German engineering contractor SMS group has completed site works ahead of construction of its large HPA plant in Johor State, in southern Malaysia. When fully operational, the plant will produce up to 4,500 tonnes of HPA annually, with the product being used in high tech applications such as LED lighting, separators in lithium-ion batteries and advanced mobile phone technology.

Altech Chemicals is pleased to announce that it has received commitments from a variety of institutional and professional investors for a share placement of ~$17 million.

Altech Chemicals has executed a Stage 1 construction works agreement with Germany's SMS group for its high purity alumina plant in Johor, Malaysia. The agreement covers site works, the electrical sub-station structure and maintenance workshop. Altech is equity funding the works, which will be carried out in parallel with project financing in order to ensure a fast tracked route to market.

Altech Chemicals has raised $17 million to help fund the construction of a high-purity alumina (HPA) plant in Malaysia.

Altech Chemicals has potentially overcome some CAPEX hurdles for the construction and development of its HPA plant in Malaysia, executing a non-binding stream financing term sheet with a US-based global investment group for USD$60m. With USD$190m already committed by the German Government-owned KfW IPEX-Bank and a term sheet for mezzanine debt from a global merchant bank for USD$90m, it is unlikely that Altech will need to raise much equity to kick -off project.

Altech Chemicals has pointed to recent research reports that forecast significant uptake of high purity alumina from the lithium battery sector to suggest that its proposed HPA plant in Malaysia is well placed to take advantage of the HPA growth curve. HPA is used in lithium-ion batteries to separate the anode from the cathode. Demand from the battery sector is predicted to triple by 2025.

Altech Chemicals has announced it has received a formal manufacturing licence from the Malaysian Government for the company's proposed 4,500 tonne per annum high purity alumina plant in Johor State at the southern tip of Malaysia. The company will source high purity kaolin clays from Meckering, near Perth in W.A. before transporting it to Johor, where it will be processed for industrial use.

Altech Chemicals has paid $5.1 million to secure a major industrial site in the southern Malaysian state of Johor for construction of its high purity alumina plant. The site is within the Tanjung Langsat Industrial Complex, just a few kms from Singapore and is part of a global hub for manufacturers of semiconductors and sapphire glass products who are big buyers of HPA.

Altech Chemicals dogged bid to avoid almost any further equity dilution when locking away the final chunk of funding needed to build its exciting high purity alumina plant just got a giant shot in the arm with an offer of further debt now firmly on the table. The company said that a global investment bank had offered up the entire remaining amount of $US120m in debt.

Altech Chemicals' vision of becoming the world's leading producer of high-purity alumina has been de-risked with the Perth-based junior completing the purchase of 92 hectares of land at its Meckering kaolin mine, east of Perth. Settlement will give Altech unrestricted access to the area as it accelerates down the home straight towards construction of its high-purity alumina plant in Malaysia.

The finish line is in sight for Altech Chemicals, who is considering mezzanine debt amongst a number of options to secure the balance of capex funding for the construction of its high-purity alumina plant in Malaysia. The Perth-based company is eager to avoid heavy dilution of its share register and has expressed confidence that the final piece of the funding jigsaw will slot into place by the middle of the year.

A leading Perth broker has set a big price target for Altech Chemicals as it enters the home straight in its quest to become the world's biggest manufacturer of in-demand high purity alumina. DJ Carmichael has set a target more than double Altech's current price, after weighing up the benefits of securing a US$170 million debt package that was guaranteed by the German Government.

Altech Chemicals has secured another key piece of the puzzle to realise its ambition of becoming a global heavyweight in high purity alumina with approval granted from the Malaysian government for its proposed plant in Johor. Malaysia has jumped at the chance to secure a total investment of $390 million and become a key player in a high-value and rapidly growing commodity.

Altech Chemicals has finalised a US$170m debt package guaranteed by the German Government on very favourable terms to cover more than half the cost of their high purity alumina project, based on the Meckering kaolin deposit in W.A. The “extremely attractive” loan is part of a $US190 million debt package subsidised by Germany because the project will use German technology and engineering.

Altech Chemical's journey towards development of a high-purity alumina plant has taken another significant step from drawing board conception to sod turning reality with the application for a manufacturing licence from Malaysian authorities. The Perth-based company has also applied for ‘pioneer status' in a bid for the project to be awarded a special tax exemption for the first five years of operation.

Altech Chemicals appear to have pulled off a major financial coup with their announcement that the German Government would provide a debt guarantee for their proposed Malaysian high purity alumina plant that will be fed with Kaolin, mined in Meckering, W.A. The project is now debt guaranteed, fixed price guaranteed , has a 10 year off-take guaranteed and the quality and throughput rate is also guaranteed.

The giant German engineering firm that will build Altech Chemicals High Purity Alumina plant in Malaysia has gone all in with Altech by agreeing to take a A$19.5m stake directly in the company ahead of the building of the plant in Malaysia that will be fed by Kaolin mined from Meckering in W.A. Dusseldorf-based engineering goliath SMS Group have annual sales in the order of 3.3b Euros.