Labor’s carbon policy spurred ‘lots of interest’ for this tech company
Calix Limited is starting to look like the Swiss army knife of Australian industry: the company’s patented kiln seems to have an unlimited number of applications, particularly in the realm of decarbonisation.
European giant Heidelberg Cement has adopted Calix’s kiln as a way to reduce emissions at its German cement plants, Australia’s big iron ore miners are investigating whether it can help make low-carbon steel, and alumina refiners are trialling its potential.
Calix chief Phil Hodgson is helping big European cement makers reduce emissions. Alf Mertens
On Wednesday, Calix pushed into the lithium sector, when market darling Pilbara Minerals agreed to push ahead with a $104.9 million project to use Calix’s intellectual property to make a new high-grade lithium phosphate product.
Pilbara’s lithium phosphate will be a new product for the battery industry and the timing is immaculate, given the big trend in electric vehicle batteries over the past two years has been the rise of cathodes with lithium-ferro-phosphate chemistry.
From 22 per cent of electric vehicle sales in 2021, LFP batteries are now fitted in 42 per cent of the electric vehicles sold globally, according to Rho Motion.
In Australia, closer to 60 per cent of electric vehicles sold have LFP chemistry.
Calix chief executive Phil Hodgson told Carbon Challenge that the lithium partnership with Pilbara Minerals would probably deliver revenue to his company sooner than Calix’s more established decarbonisation projects in European cement and Australian steel.
Hodgson also had a tip for investors struggling to work out how they should value his ASX-listed company’s long-dated but cutting-edge science.
Hi Phil. Calix’s patented kiln has been adapted to lots of
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