Calix receives Australian Advanced Manufacturing Growth Fund award

Australian technology company Calix has announced it is the recipient of an Australian Advanced Manufacturing Growth Fund award to produce advanced materials for lithium-ion batteries, a major growth market over the coming decades.

“As the world transitions to renewable energy there will be an increasing demand for efficient, cheap and high-capacity electricity storage,” said Phil Hodgson, CEO. “This means there is a massive global market for batteries that Calix can tap into.

“The Calix Flash Calciner (CFC) technology can be used to make a wide variety of mixed metal oxide materials for advanced manufacturing applications.

“For example, we started with some cheap, agricultural-grade manganese carbonate and, using our CFC technology, created various controlled oxidation states of highly porous manganese oxide, a common lithium battery material.”

The materials were tested by Dr Qilei Song’s research group at Imperial College London, and the results reviewed with Australian experts such as Monash University and Deakin University’s BatTRI Hub.

“Calix’s material appears to have unique properties that we expect should lead to superior battery and supercapacitor performance,” said Professor Doug MacFarlane from Monash University. “These are early days, but we are very encouraged by the potential.”

“The application of Calix’s technology to batteries could be a game changer in terms of providing a viable, sustainable option that supports the global goal of renewable energy,” added Hodgson.

Calix’s core technology is a kiln built in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria that produces mineral honeycomb — highly active minerals. Calix uses these minerals, which are safe and environmentally friendly, to improve wastewater treatment and phosphate removal, help protect sewer assets from corrosion, and help improve food production from aquaculture and agriculture without antibiotics, fungicides or pesticides.

Calix’s technology has also been adopted overseas, where the company is working with some of the world’s largest companies, governments and research institutions on CO₂ capture.

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