Argentina opens first lithium battery plant in Latin America, a key resource for batteries

The first national plant for the technological development of lithium cells and batteries, created by the National University of La Plata (UNLP) and Y-TEC, the YPF technology company and CONICET, with the support of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Nation, will begin operations in the first quarter of 2023.

This was confirmed by Télam Javier Díaz, secretary of Connection and technological innovation of that house of studies, who explained that they are currently working on the installation of a total of 115 tons of technological equipment from China to launch UniLiB, where lithium cells and batteries will be produced and more efficient, cleaner and lighter energy storage systems will be developed.

The plant is located on the property of the “Jorge Alberto Sabato” Productive Technological Pole, owned by the UNLP, at diagonal 113 between 64 and 66, in La Plata.

The civil works of the building that will house the plant were carried out by the University itself and its construction was completed months ago, while the acquisition of the technological equipment was handled by Y-TEC, with the support of the Ministry of Science .

In the building, which has an area of ​​1650 m2, work is currently underway for the installation and assembly of more than 70 machines from China, including mixers, ovens, cyclers, cutting/stacking, dehumidifiers and two presses.

Once this instance is complete, a testing period will begin and UniLib will be ready to start working.

“They’re installing cars. It is a special assembly because the equipment works with very controlled temperatures and humidity, which is why the dry rooms are assembled with controls for this”, Díaz explained to this agency and stressed that, after this step, between the second half of February and on March 1 “technicians will come from China to do the tests”.

He underlined that “three consecutive shifts will be carried out in front of these professionals to produce between 300 and 500 cells” and indicated that if this goes well, “later we will be able to put the plant into operation and We will start producing.

Therefore, he stressed the importance of “enhancing all the knowledge and human resources that we have in the country, with which we can design, assemble, train professionals and operators to have this first plant in the country” and remarked that it will give “he added value of lithium not only to export it as a raw material, but also to create an industrial chain”.

“It’s something that generates quality employment. Lithium multiply its value from 100 as it is industrialized,” he completed.

The creation of the first lithium cell and battery plant began to take shape more than two years ago on the initiative of the UNLP Presidency, at that time led by the current Vice President Fernando Tauber, the Ministry of Science and the company Y-TEC . At that time, the first memorandum of understanding for the creation of UniLiB was signed.

In this sense, Tauber told Télam: “Our University is part of a historical fact. The scientific and technological agenda of the UNLP is at the forefront of the national development and social agenda of our country” and added: “this is a clear example of the reformist university model we want: involved and committed to academic activity, scientific knowledge, technological development and industrial production”.

Meanwhile, the president of the UNLP, Martín López Armengol, underlined that “this is an extremely important event for our University because it places it at the forefront of the paradigm shift process regarding the use of our natural resources” .

“Having a national factory of lithium cells and batteries in our city is not only a fact linked to production activity, but it is a contribution of the UNLP itself to a state policy on energy matters which from now on must be central . ,” he said.

production plant

Once this phase is completed, the plant will have an annual production capacity -measured in stored energy- of 13 MWh, equal to 1000 batteries for the stationary accumulation of renewable energy or about 50 for electric buses.

The start-up of the plant required a total investment of € 7 million dollars: 5.5 million correspond to civil works, machinery and production of materials for electrodes (MINCyT 1.5 MM, National University of La Plata 2 MM, Y-TEC 2 MM).

In addition, Y-TEC installed the country’s first cell manufacturing pilot plant at its site and is now the only company with the ability to test new materials in commercial-grade lithium cell prototypes.

As regards human resources, the province of Buenos Aires has granted a special subsidy for the training of personnel who will work in the factory. The UNLP Professional School has trained a first group of operators for the first start-up phase of the plant, who will be part of the career of Conicet support personnel.

The project is a strategic bet to disaggregate the technological package related to the design and production of cells and batteries and generate favorable conditions to carry out technology transfers to SMEs, national and provincial companies interested in the production of lithium batteries.

lithium, the lightest metal of the periodic table, was discovered in 1817. More than 200 years later, it has managed to become a unique protagonist of the current technological revolution based on its utility for the development of batteries for mobile devices such as cell phones, tablets and laptops, and gave a vital impetus to the emergence of hybrid and electric vehicles.

But, so far, the lithium business in Argentina is limited to the export of two products: lithium carbonate (93% of exports) and lithium chloride. Other than the process of obtaining lithium carbonate from brine, there is no industrialized product after this process.

A void that needed to be filled

Despite being one of the world’s leading producers, until now our country did not have a sovereign alternative for the full use of natural resources through the technological development of national industry.

In the north of the Argentine territory there is one of the largest lithium reserves on the planet, which places our country in fourth place among the main lithium producers on a global scale. Together with Chile and Bolivia it forms the so-called Lithium Triangle, in whose geography the Salar de Hombre Muerto in our country, the Atacama salt pan in Chile and the Uyuni salt pan in Bolivia stand out.

As if it were a territory particularly blessed by nature, the salt pans of these three countries concentrate 85% of the planet’s easily extractable lithium reserves.

With over 870,000 hectares available for exploitation – according to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) -, national lithium reserves are concentrated in three provinces: Catamarca (Salar de Hombre Muerto, Salar de Antofalla), Salta (Salar del Rincón ) and Jujuy (Salar de Olaroz, Salar de Cauchari). It is estimated that between 10 and 12 percent of the world’s total reserves are hidden there. A true treasure of white gold submerged in the bowels of the Argentine Puna, which can become a millionaire source of income.

Between calculations and projects, the future of white gold in our country does not seem to find its roof. According to the estimates of various specialists, it is estimated that mining capacity locally it could soon reach almost 200,000 tons per year, which is equivalent to five times the current production.

Demand is driven not only by the sharp increase in the production of batteries by major car manufacturers, but also by their use in the ceramics and glass industry, in the production of heat-resistant fats and oils, polymers, production of medicines, light alloys together with aluminum and copper – especially for industry air force.

It is also valued as a nuclear fuel in nuclear fusion (fusion of light nuclei) reactors, a technology still under development.

With information from Telam