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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

American Energy Technologies Plans Spheroidal Graphite Processing Facility in Arlington Heights, Illinois

12/18/2018
American Energy Technologies in collaboration with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence of Great Britain, plans to develop a sustainable advanced battery-grade spheroidized natural graphite North America supply chain from its center in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

According to Derek Schaltz, AETC's Nanotechnology and Energy Systems Engineer, "Benchmark Mineral Intelligence predicts an increase in demand for natural graphite to be used in lithium-ion batteries. There is a significant existing capacity to process graphite in North America, as yet there has not been a singular established spheroidal graphite processing facility on the continent.

"We are pleased to announce the establishment of the only spheroidal graphite processing facility in the U.S., at the new AETC facility in Arlington Heights, Illinois. AETC looks forward to working with supply chain participants assembled by the Benchmark Mineral Intelligence events to include North American mining and development companies fulfilling the growing demands of the region's lithium-ion battery industry," he said.

"In order to use natural graphite in lithium-ion battery anodes, graphite needs to be of sufficient purity level, and needs to be spheronized. The traditional approach is spheroidization processing material of graphite concentrate first and purifying second. We believe there's a better solution. AETC has implemented a more environmentally responsible overhaul of the traditional flow sheet for secondary processing of natural graphite,” Mr. Schaltz explained.

"Our approach is based on purifying primary-processed flake concentrate first, followed by spheronization and highly-efficient classification. Our spheronization and classification process yields are some of the highest worldwide, reaching over 70% of usable spherical product depending on the flake source. Material that was not spheroidized retains high-purity after processing; purity ranges from 99.95 to 99.98 %C,” he explained.

"We are eager to work on implementing our flow sheet in collaboration with other members of the supply chain, to include mining industry partners and customers. Not all flake sizes and types are processed the same, so we encourage interested parties to contact us to discuss how our capabilities can be applied to the battery supply chain of electric vehicles and other, more traditional portable energy applications. These high-purity products coming out of AETC's plant can be sold at premium prices in a variety of value-added markets, including specialty paints and coatings, non-spherical battery-grade graphites, conductive plastics, and more," Schaltz concluded.

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