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The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth has named Talga’s intended plant – the Luleå Anode Refinery – as one of the first Strategic Projects recognised under the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA).

This bolsters the centrality of this project within the EU’s plans to build a resilient and autonomous net-zero industry.

The classification also has several benefits, including national priority status under NZIA regulation – which aids in speeding up the administrative process and expedited permitting, plus priority when it comes to dispute resolution.

Additionally, the project will receive Net-Zero Europe Platform engagement, providing Talga with access to support with uniform NZIA implementation, and advice when it comes to financing and investor matchmaking.

There’s also access to EU funding in support of clean tech and industrial decarbonisation.

Talga Group CEO Martin Phillips said Talga was very pleased to have been recognised this way as it continues working towards more Talnode production.

“The designation of both our natural graphite mine and battery anode manufacturing as EU Strategic Projects affirms our credentials in sustainable innovation and highlights Talga’s pivotal role in powering the supply chain for anode and Europe’s clean energy future,” Mr Phillips said.

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Talga’s wider Vittangi project aims to produce 19,500 tonnes per annum of Talnode, anatural graphite battery anode material taken from Talga’s 100% owned natural graphite resources in Sweden.

Talga shares have been trading at 43 cents today.

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The independent body, which now falls under the umbrella of Standard and Poor’s global ratings, placed CERENERGY in the ‘dark green’ category.

What this means is that Altech has achieved the highest possible green rating.

Projects in this category are described as ‘activities that correspond to the long-term vision of a LCCR (low carbon and climate resilient) future. Altech believes this is based on CERENERGY’s status as battery tech with the lowest carbon footprint, and lowest supply chain requirements, as well as dealing responsibly – and in line with environmental principles – when it comes to raw materials.

Altech managing director Iggy Tan said the dark green categorisation demonstrates CERENERGY’s best credentials, in particular the project’s alignment with ICMA Green Bond Criteria.

“The project can now be accessed by investors that participate in the green bond market, the size of which is approaching US$250 billion annually and a large portion of which is present in Europe,” he said.

In October, CERENERGY launched a 60KWh prototype at the test laboratory of its joint venture partner – Fraunhofer IKTs in Dresden, Germany.

Altech has been trading at 4.5 cents.

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A previous study – reported in July – proved the scalability of the company’s recycling process using pure precursor Cathode Active Material (pCAM), excluding lithium.

In this new study, the black mass (or grounded spent batteries, with a mixture of different Li-ion battery types) was subjected to a three-stage pre-treatment process to remove impurities, and yielding the recoveries in question – an improvement from previous findings.

The study is an important milestone for the company, which is on-track to complete a prefeasibility study on its battery recycling technology by the end of October.

Once that’s complete, Iondrive will look at the development of a pilot plant for the technology, as well as opportunities for industry collaboration and non-dilutive funding in Europe and Australia.

Iondrive CEO Ebbe Dommisse said the results were a major breakthrough.

“Achieving such high recovery rates from mixed Black Mass is a significant step forward,” he said.

“Compared to our previous trials, which used pristine material, these new results demonstrate the robustness of our process, even with lower-quality, mixed material.

“Looking ahead, we expect to work with more consistent, higher-grade material through partnerships, which will further improve the efficiency and reliability of our recycling technology.”

Iondrive has been trading at 1.2 cents.

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Altech said the prototype had been installed at the test laboratory of its joint venture partner – Fraunhofer IKTs – located in Dresden, and integrated into a custom-built battery test station, where it was already outperforming initial expectations.

In particular, it had shown the ability to maintain excellent thermal stability, a crucial factor in high-capacity energy storage systems.

According to the battery test station setup, daily charging and discharging cycles are facilitated to check the battery’s efficiency, stability and overall performance under real-world conditions.

Altech CEO and managing director Iggy Tan said getting the prototype into operation was an important milestone.

“We are extremely pleased that the first CERENERGY® 60kWh battery prototype is now up and running and operating better than expected, reconfirming our confidence in the sodium-chloride solid-state battery technology developed by the world-leading Fraunhofer Institute in Germany,” he said.

“Using common table salt technology and without the requirement for lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite and manganese, the CERENERGY® battery can operate in a wide range of temperatures and has a life of 15 years, around double that of lithium-ion batteries.

“The prototype can now be demonstrated under real-world conditions, providing critical data for off-take parties. This will be invaluable as Altech pushes forward with sales and finance to construct the first 120MWh plant.

“With the first Letter of Intent for 30MWh of offtake with Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Parkrecently announced, we envisage that having the CERENERGY® 60kWh battery prototype up and running and exceeding expectations, will further assist in the offtake process.”

Altech has been trading at 3.8 cents.

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The company – through its subsidiary SCEE Electrical – will now add the Collie Battery Energy Storage System 330kV Switchyard Package to its original deal with Synergy, which had instead been built around the 500 MW/2000 MWh Collie Battery Energy Storage System.

This variation to the contract will now bring its total value to SCEE up to $210 million, with the works connected to this variation planned for completion in the second quarter of 2025.

As part of the Collie Battery Energy Storage System 330kV Switchyard Package, SCEE Electrical will be undertaking civil and structural works, 330kV overhead line gantries, installation, testing and commissioning support of 330kV/33kV transformers, circuit breakers, surge arrestors, current/voltage transformers, a 330kV control room and a communications and SCADA system, all tying into the Western Power network.

SCEE’s initial arrangement with state-owned company Synergy – which was announced on May 6 – was the former’s largest contract to date, and SCEE managing director Graeme Dunn said he was pleased this was being boosted again.

“I am very pleased that Synergy has awarded us this further package of works at what will eventually be one of the largest battery energy storage systems in Australia,” he said.

“This brings the total value of work for us on this project to approximately $210m already, and I note there are many further battery projects to come here in Western Australia and in the rest of the country to support Australia reaching its net zero emissions targets.”

SCEE has been trading at $1.69

It’s a re-listing focussed on the Falcon Lake lithium project in Ontario, Canada, with secondary projects targeting copper in Morocco and zinc, lead and germanium in Austria.

As part of the relisting process, BM8 has raised $6.5 million through a capital raise at a share offer price of 40 cents with a one-for-one attaching option at 50 cents.

Battery Age has been restructured as an international explorer focussed on highly-sought future-facing minerals through the acquisition of its three assets.

The company plans to begin a maiden drilling program at Falcon Lake in the first half of this year.

It will also progress exploration at the unexplored Tidili copper-gold project in Morocco, as well as the Beliberg zinc, lead and germanium project in Austria. Germanium is a key element in the production of semiconductors, microchips and other high-value applications.

Battery Age is led by an experienced board and management team including Chairman Robert Martin and CEO Gerard O’Donovan.

Mr O’Donovan worked as a project manager at lithium producer Pilbara Minerals (PLS) during its growth phase and led the development of the world-class Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum mine and processing facility. He also managed the upgrade, recommissioning and restart of the Njungaju mine and processing facility.

Mr O’Donovan said the Falcon Lake project had been explored sporadically during the 1950s and again between 2010 and 2016.

“Previous explorers generated significant intercepts of spodumene mineralisation and defined at least three known lithium occurrences which have been very lightly explored,” he said.

“We are excited to re-launch the company on the ASX as Battery Age Minerals, giving investors exposure to a diversified portfolio underpinned by a high-quality lithium exploration asset.”