Novonix (ASX:NVX) receives US$150m grant for EV battery production

Novonix Limited (ASX:NVX) CEO Dr Chris Burns discusses news following the company's AGM, including the appointment of new directors and the expansion of the company's development capabilities.

Tim McGowen: Today we're talking to Novonix (ASX:NVX), market cap of $1.4 billion. We have with us their CEO, Dr Chris Burns. Now if you don't know Novonix, the company's a battery materials and technology company, enabling an electrified future for electric vehicles and grid energy storage. The company brings better battery technology to market rapidly by leveraging their advanced R&D capabilities, proprietary technology and strategic relationships. Chris, nice to see you back in Sydney.

Dr Chris Burns: Great. Thanks for having me here, Tim.

Tim McGowen: Of course, you've been in Brisbane for your AGM. There's been some news coming out of your AGM, including the appointment of two new directors, Mr Daniel Akerson and Mr Ron Edmonds. Can I start by asking what do they bring to the table for Novonix?

Dr Chris Burns: Absolutely. So, we're very excited to have Dan and Ron join the board. We're really continuing to focus on how we can build both our management team and our board of directors to support the growth of the company, really with a focus in the United States, bringing what is really a specialty chemical business, specifically in the battery space there, to scale and servicing the vehicle market. So, of course, this is an industry that's new in the United States, and we're looking to leverage experienced talent and great executives from other industries adjacent, such as Dan's experience in the auto sector with General Motors and Ron's with Dow Chemical in the specialty chemicals business.

Tim McGowen: And, in that AGM presentation yesterday, you highlighted that you're expanding the internal cathode development team and capabilities. Can you give us an update on that business?

Dr Chris Burns: Absolutely. So, this sits within our battery technology solutions business now, and is founded on technology that we developed with the university partnership that we have, and we're really bringing to pilot scale now. So, we just received some of the key pilot line equipment that we'll look to commission through the end of this year, and over the next 6 to 12 months really look to prove both the technical performance and the potential economic benefits of the cathode synthesis technology that we've developed.

Tim McGowen: And, of course, there's significant government tailwinds for the industry in the United States, and Novonix has just received a $150 million grant from the Department of Energy. What does this mean for Novonix and what are the next steps there?

Dr Chris Burns: The government stimulus packages that are coming through now in the United States are significant. They are incentivising giving the opportunity for local supply chain companies in the battery sector, such as ourselves, to really compete on a global scale by incentivising not just our domestic production, but consumer tax credits for the vehicles that meet content requirements, and then supporting companies like ourselves through these grant programs. So, this $150 million is grant funding that'll go toward our next greenfield facility, which will bring online an initial 30,000 tonnes of capacity by 2025, with really a target for the vehicle market.

Tim McGowen: And with the synthetic graphite business, what are the next steps there?

Dr Chris Burns: We're continuing to focus on our Riverside build-out right now. That's our first mass production site, which will provide material to core power under the agreement that we have. And, over the coming months, we'll really start to bring more production equipment online within that site towards its production target of 10,000 tonnes. And in parallel to that, similar to where the funding is supporting, is the greenfield project, where we'll be looking at our next site and starting construction on that next year to bring online that additional incremental capacity by 2025.

Tim McGowen: And, finally, the next 3 to 6 months, what do they look like for Novonix?

Dr Chris Burns: So, we're going to have, as we talked about, on the cathode side, operational milestones with our pilot line commissioning and some of the work coming out of that team, as well as continued growth through our technology solutions business. But the real focus is going to be those operational plants within our anode materials team, announcing hopefully our site for this next build as well as more potential funding that may come in and starting the construction of that facility to meet that operational timeline.

Tim McGowen: Dr Chris Burns, thanks for your time.

Dr Chris Burns: Great. Thanks, Tim.

Source: Finance News Network