MG opens world’s first plant producing niobium for electric car batteries

The Brazilian Metallurgical and Mining Company (CBMM) opened this week. The world’s first volume production facility for the production of niobium anode with XNO technologyIt is used in electric car batteries. The industrial facility is located in the city of Araxá (MG).

The metal, which has high corrosion resistance and good conductivity, is used in the production of lithium-ion batteries and stands out with its great capacity to perform ultra-fast charging. It also supports a greater number of loading and unloading cycles and can be used in civil construction, airplanes, cars, and space probes, among other fields.

In new installation according to CBMM It has the capacity to produce 3 thousand tons of mixed oxides per year for batteries; 2 thousand tons of this goes to XNO technology. It will supply the equivalent of 1 GWh per year to lithium-ion cell manufacturers in various countries.

The company plans to reach a production capacity of 20 thousand tons of niobium oxide for batteries by 2030 at its production unit in the interior of Minas Gerais. The investment estimate for the facility is R$2.2 billion, and the project is expected to create more than 130 direct jobs.

New generation batteries

Niobium anode production from this new industrial facility, More powerful batteries with ultra-fast charging and greater enduranceIt meets the increasing demand of the automotive industry. The factory was built in partnership with British Echion Technologies.

Echion customers working on the development of next-generation batteries will have access to the entire production of the unit. They are mostly located in Europe, but there are also brands in countries in Asia, North America and South America.

“As CBMM, we expect faster growth in the battery industry in the coming years. We are proud to celebrate the fruits of this partnership, which strengthens our Sustainability Plan and is in line with global decarbonization and electrification promotion trends,” commented Ricardo Lima, CEO of the company.