Alberta-based Sio Silica Corp. has partnered with the University of Manitoba to develop a single-step process for producing high-performance silicon battery materials from high-purity silica.
The collaboration with the university’s Department of Chemistry will focus on mechanochemical single-step synthesis of silicon oxide-based anode materials, using silica as the primary input. Researchers say the goal is to create a faster, lower-cost and lower-emission alternative to traditional battery material production methods.
The research is being led by Dr. Christian Kuss, an associate professor in the Faculty of Science and co-holder of several patents in electrochemical methods and battery materials. Kuss said the team is investigating a low-emission process that produces silicon suboxide nano-powders directly from high-purity sand, without the need for harmful solvents or high-temperature furnaces.
According to the researchers, the resulting nano-powders could be used as anode materials in lithium-ion batteries with capacities six to 10 times greater than conventional graphite-based anodes.
“Single-step silica processes allow battery anodes to be produced directly from high-purity SiO? rather than energy-intensive metallurgical silicon, reducing cost, complexity, and carbon footprint,” said Carla Devlin, president of Sio, in a release.
“This approach improves scalability, strengthens domestic critical-mineral supply chains, and supports high-capacity silicon-dominant lithium-ion battery performance.”
Sio Silica is actively trying to obtain a licence from the provincial government for its proposed high-purity quartz sand extraction project near Vivian, southeast of Winnipeg.
