[SMM News ] French tech subsidiaries to investigate graphite, silicon combination for lithium ion batteries

Published: Sep 14, 2026 22:57

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SMM, September 11: HPQ Silicon's strategic partner Novacium, a French technology company, will collaborate with Tokai Cobex Savoie, a French subsidiary of Japan's Tokai Carbon Group, to develop an integrated anode material solution for lithium-ion batteries. Novacium specializes in silicon-based, high-capacity anode materials, while Tokai Cobex produces low-carbon synthetic graphite for batteries in Europe.

The two companies' R&D teams will evaluate combining their materials into a single composite anode designed and potentially produced in France, aimed at improving lithium-ion cell energy density. Silicon's theoretical capacity of about 4,200 mAh/g is more than ten times that of graphite, though its expansion during lithiation requires advanced engineering; Novacium's GEN3 and GEN4 materials have validated performance addressing this.

Novacium COO Jed Kraiem said the goal is to verify the silicon-based anode material can be combined with French battery-grade synthetic graphite for a sovereign, higher-performing solution. HPQ Silicon CEO Bernard Tourillon said the move addresses graphite based anodes approaching their capacity limits.

Anode chemistry improvements are relevant to lithium-ion battery supply chains alongside upstream lithium supply: higher-energy-density silicon-graphite composites can raise cell performance without a proportional rise in lithium carbonate or hydroxide input per unit of stored energy, a factor bearing on long-term lithium demand growth as cell makers balance efficiency gains against raw lithium sourcing needs.

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