Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has announced the signing of a binding Joint Development Agreement ("JDA") with Rio Tinto, with the goal of accelerating the development and application of GMG's Graphene Aluminium-Ion batteries in the mining and minerals industry. Rio Tinto will contribute technical and operational performance criteria and A$6 million (over USD$3,900,000), in exchange for preferential access rights.
The JDA seeks to support the accelerated development of GMG's Graphene Aluminium-Ion Batteries for use in heavy mobile equipment and grid energy storage applications in the mining and mineral industry. The JDA builds on the existing collaboration for Rio Tinto to explore the use of GMG's Energy Saving and Energy Storage solutions (announced May 2022). This JDA is effective immediately and is expected to last 2 years with payments spread over the term of the agreement. The JDA aims to co-develop GMG's Graphene Aluminium-Ion battery pouch cell into an initial battery pack/module proof of concept.
Rio Tinto will seek to involve Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), including Heavy Mobile Equipment OEMs, to work with GMG and Rio Tinto to align the battery pack development with end use requirements. Success could see performance enhancements for Rio Tinto, including faster charging and longer-life batteries for heavy mobile equipment and grid energy storage, as well as supporting Rio Tinto's decarbonization ambitions.
GMG will retain ownership of the intellectual property of the GMG Graphene Aluminium Ion Battery Pouch Cell and Battery Pack. On successful completion of the joint project, Rio Tinto would have the right to procure and use the batteries in their operations.
Rio Tinto Chief Scientist, Nigel Steward, said, "We are excited to expand and deepen our partnership with GMG. We both share a vision of a low-carbon future and for Rio Tinto it's a crucial time to partner with companies like GMG to accelerate battery technology and innovation. We are looking forward to continuing our collaboration and leveraging our combined expertise and resources to develop a truly green battery that has the potential to improve the way we supply and store energy."
GMG's Managing Director and CEO, Craig Nicol, commented: "We are excited to be collaborating with Rio Tinto, one of the world's largest mining companies who are committed to leveraging leading technologies for efficient and low carbon operations. The collaboration with Rio Tinto on the applications of Graphene Aluminium-Ion batteries is a key step for GMG. Together, with the existing technical and supply chain partnerships already established, this is another important step towards GMG's goal to become a major global supplier of next generation batteries as we continue to de-risk the commercial scale up of this technology."
Guy Outen, GMG's Chair, commented: "I am very pleased to further deepen our partnership with Rio Tinto. I believe the opportunity to work closely with them given their capability and drive as a large potential customer to access leading new technologies will greatly assist the potential development of our next generation Graphene Aluminium-Ion batteries. More broadly, significant customer feedback to GMG has reinforced the opportunity of the pouch cell battery format and this JDA with Rio Tinto is another example. We'll now re-prioritize our energies to developing this form of battery which should further support progress towards our aim of a commercial, large scale, highly competitive battery."