UK-CSi: Feasibility study for establishing graphite-silicon refining plant in UK

硅提供了优于常规LIB阳极材料（例如石墨）的显著能量密度优势。Si具有对应于Li 15 Si 4相的形成的3600 mAh/g的理论比容量，其显著大于石墨的371 mAh/g。然而，硅会膨胀，因此与石墨或某种形式的碳结合以控制这种效应。由于半导体、太阳能和铝合金行业已建立的市场消耗了70%以上的硅金属，因此在储能应用中使用硅将不可避免地面临来自这些行业的激烈竞争（Mordor Intelligence，2020）。此外，中国是世界上最大的硅生产国，2020年的产量为5.4公吨，而世界总产量为8.5公吨。因此，寻找用于电池的硅的替代来源对于确保未来的材料供应链至关重要。Talga已准备好在欧盟和中国以外建立最大的阳极制造工厂之一。Talga在瑞典的天然石墨矿产资源资产是世界上最高等级的石墨资源（JORC）。Talga已经开展了利用其石墨矿石原料生产原位硅-石墨复合阳极材料Talnode-CSi的有前景的研究，与商业石墨材料相比，Talnode-CSi具有更上级的性能。该项目将基于建立下游石墨-硅精炼厂的可行性来开发商业案例。这不仅将为Talga和英国电动汽车市场提供竞争优势，还将大大减少他们对从其他来源采购下一代阳极材料硅的依赖。

Silicon offers a significant energy density advantage over conventional LIB anode materials such as graphite. Si has a theoretical specific capacity of 3600 mAh/g corresponding to the formation of Li15Si4 phase which is substantially larger than that of graphite 371 mAh/g. However, silicon suffers from swelling and is therefore combined with graphite or some form of carbon to control this effect.Use of Silicon in energy storage applications will inevitably face a stiff competition from semiconductor, solar and aluminium alloy industries given these established markets consume \>70% of Silicon metal (Mordor Intelligence, 2020). Further, China is world's largest producer of silicon with a production volume of 5.4 metric ton in 2020 out of a total world production volume of 8.5 metric tons. Finding an alternative source of silicon for its use in battery is therefore important to secure future material supply chains.Talga is all set to establish one of the largest anode manufacturing plants in EU and outside China. Talga's natural graphite mineral resource assets in Sweden are the highest-grade graphite resource in the world (JORC). Talga has carried out promising studies using its graphite ore feed to produce in-situ silicon-graphite composite anode material Talnode-CSi resulting in superior performance compared to commercial graphite materials.This project will look to develop a business case based on feasibility of setting up a downstream graphite-silicon refining plant. This will not only provide a competitive edge to Talga and UK EV market but also drastically reduce their dependencies on sourcing silicon for next generation anode materials from other sources.