Versa Materials and AUMUND partner on domestic battery cathode manufacturing equipment, targeting 50% CapEx reduction

Versa Materials Technology and AUMUND Corporation have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at revolutionising domestic battery cathode manufacturing. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to adapt AUMUND’s conveying and thermal processing equipment specifically for battery cathode calcination, a critical and capital-intensive step in battery production. This agreement grants mutual exclusivity, with Versa becoming AUMUND’s sole partner for conveyor-based calcination development and AUMUND serving as Versa’s exclusive equipment development partner. The collaboration focuses on replacing the conventional multi-step co-precipitation and saggar-based calcination process with Versa’s innovative single-step spray pyrolysis technique. This new method eliminates the need for wet precursor trains and process wastewater, targeting a significant reduction in both capital and operating expenditures—approximately 50% and 20% respectively—compared to traditional saggar-based production. Versa is currently qualifying cathode materials such as NMC and LFP/LMFP for clients in defence, consumer electronics, and energy storage sectors, signalling strong market interest in this technology. AUMUND, a company with over a century of experience in bulk material handling and thermal processing across various industries, is making its first foray into battery materials through this partnership. The company’s extensive engineering expertise and global manufacturing footprint, boasting more than 27,000 installations in 150 countries, positions it uniquely to address the challenges of scaling thermal processing for battery cathode production. Versa’s CEO, Carson Rast, highlighted the difficulty of managing controlled atmosphere calcination at production scale and praised AUMUND’s capabilities as essential to overcoming this bottleneck. The alliance between Versa and AUMUND could have significant implications for the domestic battery manufacturing industry, potentially lowering barriers to entry by reducing capital costs and environmental impact. By streamlining the calcination process and eliminating wastewater, the partnership supports more sustainable and cost-effective production methods. As battery demand continues to grow, especially for electric vehicles and energy storage, this collaboration may accelerate the localisation of cathode manufacturing and enhance supply chain resilience in the UK and beyond.