Mesa-based graphite processing company Urbix Inc. says it’s closer to establishing a $280 million production facility now that it has signed a joint development agreement with South Korea-based global electric vehicle battery maker SK On (SKO) Co. Ltd. to develop materials for advanced lithium-ion batteries.
Under the deal, Urbix will work with SKO on industrialized anode materials that will supply the battery maker’s American gigafactories.
Urbix was founded in 2014 and describes itself as the only U.S. company producing natural battery grade graphite for use in electric vehicles and battery storage systems. It says that its partnership with SKO will accelerate its plans to establish a commercial anode production facility. Plans call for producing 28,500 metric tons of anode products yearly — enough to power 350,000 high-performance EVs — by 2025.
The Mesa company said through a spokesperson that it hasn’t decided yet where its production facility will be located but that it hopes to secure a site by the end of March, and places both inside and outside Arizona are being considered. Urbix currently employs 55 people in Arizona and said it hopes to hire at least another 30 over the next 12 months.
The partnership with SKO helps reduce the need for EV battery-grade graphite from China.
“Working with such a renowned battery manufacturer means that we can accelerate our production efforts, and more effectively address the supply of graphite,” Urbix CEO Nico Cuevas said in a statement. “By utilizing Urbix’s innovative technologies, we can shift more of the refinement and production of battery-grade graphite to the US, a mission we remain committed to.”
Urbix says its proprietary graphite processing system uses 10% of the energy, 6% of the acid and 7% of the time needed by existing processes. The Mesa company also said it eliminates the use of hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acids and has yields that are more than twice the industry standard.
SKO is the lithium-ion battery subsidiary of SK Innovation. It has two battery manufacturing plants in Georgia. It also has a joint venture with Ford Motor Co., called BlueOval SK, to build three more battery plants in the Southeast that will go online in 2025. That ramp-up in U.S. production means more U.S. supplies are needed.
The deal also helps SKO benefit under provisions of the federal Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, which uses tax credits to encourage domestic energy production and manufacturing using domestic supplies. The IRA also aims to reduce carbon emissions by about 40% before 2030.
“This agreement is meaningful in increasing the possibility of securing eco-friendly and high-performance anode active materials for use in SK On’s U.S. plants,” Sun Heeyoung, SK On’s vice president in charge of advanced research, in a statement. “SK On will continue to work to develop anode materials that can maximize battery performance.”
