JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Magnis Resources, battery technology developer Charge CCCV and industrial equipment multinational Siemens have signed a letter of intent to enhance the lithium-ion manufacturing technology at the New York battery plant, in which Magnis has a shareholding, through digitisation and automation.

“Siemens will play a major role in the factory digitisation, automation and in-line manufacturing technology for the next generation of lithium-ion battery plants.

“Under the agreement, Siemens will identify resources to develop a clearly defined functional specification for the use of Siemens industry software and automation solutions, and to provide the benefit of technology standards to help build next-generation manufacturing plants – the digital enterprise for battery production.”

“We are excited to be involved in the Imperium3 battery plants. We were very impressed by the progress being made in New York to date and we believe this is one of the most advanced upcoming battery projects worldwide,” said Siemens Digital Factory Division US president Raj Batra.

“Magnis Resources continues to validate the quality of our projects and our technology with quality partners. Our strategy is to eliminate manufacturing risk one step at a time. To have a global powerhouse in Siemens showing its commitment to what we are doing is significant validation to our project in New York,” said Magnis Resources chairperson Frank Poullas.

“With cobalt prices hitting above $80 000/t, our cathode technology will be a game changer in the marketplace; something that is becoming evident with original equipment manufacturers we are meeting and the partners like Siemens and Celgard who are getting involved in our projects,” he added.

Magnis, which owns the Nachu graphite mine, in Tanzania, is working to become one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery cell manufacturers and aims to be responsible for the end-to-end supply chain in sourcing the raw materials including high-quality graphite and associated technologies for these cells.