NOVONIX & TAQAT Form JV To Produce Battery Materials in MENA

NOVONIX Limited, a leading battery materials and technology company, has agreed to establish an incorporated joint venture with TAQAT to develop and produce anode materials for electric vehicle and energy storage system batteries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The joint venture is intended to utilize the leading battery technology and capability of NOVONIX to develop a graphite anode materials facility with capacity of 30,000 tonnes per annum. NOVONIX said that the project is to be located in Saudi Arabia and is expected to secure ready access to precursor material as feedstock for critical battery materials and access to developing end-use markets for the manufacture and sale of EVs and ESS applications.

Saudi Arabia plans to have 30% of all vehicles on road be electric by 2030. In support of this initiative, Saudi Arabia launched Ceer, the country’s first electric vehicle brand, and a US based EV manufacturer also announced plans to build its first international factory in Saudi Arabia. Upstream projects such as the anode materials facility to be built under this JV will help support a localized supply chain for this sector in Saudi Arabia.

Further, TAQAT said that it has signed an MOU with Rabigh Refinery & Petrochemical Company that intends to supply TAQAT Decant Oil and TAQAT intends to build a petroleum needle coking facility, using Chevron Lummus Global proprietary Needle Coke technology. This will allow for the JV with NOVONIX to access high quality local precursor material within Saudi Arabia while also being able to leverage the existing suppliers of NOVONIX of key feedstocks from North America and globally.

Chris Burns, CEO, NOVONIX said, “The joint venture will leverage NOVONIX’s existing work in North America and will allow us to more quickly scale our operations to extend our geographical reach to the global market.” He also added that NOVONIX’s battery anode manufacturing expertise coupled with TAQAT’s anticipated strong financial support will help bring the first anode materials facility to Saudi Arabia.”

Jamal Al-Bassam CEO of TAQAT said, “We are pleased to partner with NOVONIX, a leading battery technology and battery materials company. Together, this provides a platform that benefits both companies, not just for the development of battery materials, but also to create a world-class graphite vertical in Saudi Arabia and support the Kingdom’s diversification efforts.”