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					</table><p>Mumbai-based <a href="https://www.himadri.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Himadri Speciality Chemical</a> has announced an additional capital injection of AU$10.49 million (~$7.01 million) in Australia-based <a href="https://www.siconabattery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sicona Battery Technologies</a>, a developer of materials for lithium-ion batteries.</p>
<p>The investment is aimed at subscribing to 3.793 million compulsorily convertible notes (CCNs) with a face value of AU$1.00 (~$0.67) each.</p>
<p>The remaining investment of 4.253 million CCNs will be made in agreed tranches.</p>
<p>As a result of the latest investment, the company now cumulatively holds 14.194 million CCNs in Sicona.</p>
<p>The investment aims to accelerate product and technology development for Sicona and to expedite the commercial deployment of lithium-ion batteries.</p>
<p>The company said it has not acquired any additional voting rights or control in Sicona at present. The investment will have no immediate impact on Sicona&#8217;s management or decision-making.</p>
<p>The CCNs will be convertible into shares of Sicona in accordance with the agreed terms.</p>
<p>In 2023, Himadri had <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/himadri-invests-7-million-australian-startup-sicona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an investment of AU$10.32 million (~$6.89 million) in Sicona to produce high-quality anode materials.</p>
<p>Lithium-ion batteries <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/sodium-ion-to-set-to-surge-but-still-a-sidekick-to-lithium-by-2030-irena" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continue</a> to dominate the battery market because of their long service life, high energy density, high efficiency, and fast power delivery. However, rising demand and supply chain disruptions in 2021 and 2022 has raised concerns about the availability and affordability of critical materials.</p>
<p>Himadri is involved in the production of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries in India. The company develops raw materials for the lithium-ion battery value chain.</p>
<p>In 2023, Sicona <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/funding-and-ma-roundup-battery-company-talga-funding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secured</a> AU$22 million (~$14.71 million) in Series A funding to expand its operations in Australia and the U.S. The funding round was led by Himadri.</p>
<p>Himadri has also <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/himadri-set-up-li-ion-battery-plant-odisha" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established</a> a facility in Odisha to produce lithium-ion battery components with a total annual production capacity of 200,000 MT at an estimated project cost of ₹48 billion (~$575.87 million) over a period of five to six years.</p>


Himadri Steps Up Investment in Australian Battery Firm Sicona

<p><a href="https://siconabattery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sicona Battery Technologies</a>, a company that develops advanced battery materials for lithium-ion batteries, secured A$22 million (~$15 million) in Series A funding to expand its operations in Australia and the US. The funding round was led by India’s Himadri Speciality Chemical, Artesian, and Electrification &amp; Decarbonization AIE, a fund managed by Waratah Capital. Riverstone Ventures, Chaos Ventures, Investible Climate Tech Fund LP and Club Investible also participated in the funding round.</p>
<p>Sicona’s core technology is a silicon-composite anode material that can increase the energy density and cycle life of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, grid storage, and consumer electronics.</p>
<p>The company claims its anode material can deliver 50-100% higher capacity than conventional graphite anodes and more than 50% higher cell energy density than current Li-ion batteries.</p>
<p>&#8220;By using silicon metal (and not expensive, supply chain constrained and dangerous silane gas like our competitors), Sicona can offer low-cost silicon anode materials at large automotive scale locally in major markets,” Sicona CEO and cofounder Christiaan Jordaan said, &#8220;Our silicon metal-based technology decouples us from the major bottlenecks and cost implications of silane gas-based technologies and provides our customers the confidence that we can deliver a silicon-carbon anode material at a capital intensity and $/kg price which is feasible for mass-automotive market adoption.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Series A funding will enable Sicona to accelerate its engineering studies, site selection, and customer qualification for its US plant, which will have an initial capacity of 5ktpa (~50 GWh) and a potential expansion to 20ktpa (~200 GWh).</p>
<p>The project will be located in the southeastern US, where several major battery manufacturers and electric vehicle makers have established or announced their presence. The project will also comply with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a US legislation that incentivizes domestic production of critical minerals and materials for clean energy applications.</p>
<p>According to Mercom’s Q1 2023 Funding and M&amp;A <a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/product/q1-2023-funding-ma-report-storage-grid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Report</a> for Storage and Smart Grid, VC funding raised by Energy Storage companies in Q1 2023 came to $1.1 billion in 19 deals, an 8% decrease year-over-year (YoY) compared to $1.2 billion in 22 deals in Q1 2022.</p>
<p>Recently, Forge Nano, a provider of nanocoating technology for lithium-ion batteries, <a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/forge-nano-raises-50-million-to-build-out-battery-production-line/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">closed</a> on $50 million in funding led by key investments from Hanwha Corporate Venture Capital with participation from OIC, Catalus Capital, Ascent Funds, and existing investors. This funding brings the company’s total amount of capital raised to date to more than $95 million.</p>


Australian Battery Manufacturer Sicona Raises $15 Million in Series A Funding


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					</table><p>India-based specialty chemical company <a href="https://www.himadri.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Himadri</a> has announced an investment of AU$10.32 million (~$7 million) in Australian startup <a href="https://siconabattery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sicona Battery Technologies</a> to produce high-quality anode materials.</p>
<p>The investment aims to accelerate product and technology development for Sicona while expediting the commercial deployment of the lithium-ion battery.</p>
<p>The company Himadri will also use the investment to further the company’s explorations in innovative technologies in the battery material segment.</p>
<p>Himadri is involved in the production of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries in India. The company develops raw materials for the li-ion battery value chain.</p>
<p>It has eight zero-liquid discharge manufacturing units and utilizes in-house green power to meet over 90% of its energy needs.</p>
<p>Based in Sydney, Sicona specializes in high-capacity silicon anode technology for lithium-ion batteries and has developed next-generation materials used in the anodes of these batteries that enable electric mobility and storage of renewable energy.</p>
<p>The company claims its anode materials can deliver over 50% higher cell energy density than the largely used lithium-ion batteries.</p>
<p>Australia <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/australia-can-rival-china-for-renewables-sector" target="_blank" rel="noopener">houses</a> abundant minerals critical to renewable energy technologies and is the leading producer of unprocessed lithium. The country produces 79% of the world’s hard rock lithium, with its mineral exports projected to reach $16 billion in 2023.</p>
<p>Chairman and Managing Director of Himadri Speciality Chemical Anurag Choudhary said, “Sicona’s ground-breaking research and cost-effective &amp; highly scalable approach to silicon anode manufacturing perfectly complements our strategic objectives.”</p>
<p>Sicona’s Founder and CEO, Christiaan Jordaan, commented, “Our silicon metal-based technology provides our customers the confidence that we can deliver a silicon-carbon anode material at a capital intensity and $/kg price which is feasible for mass-automotive market adoption. Himadri has a multi-decade track record of manufacturing materials at scale, and their expertise and inputs will be a major asset to us in the next phases of our growth plans. Himadri’s current strength in synthetic anode materials has strong synergies with our silicon anode technology.”</p>
<p>Earlier this year, the Australian government set a <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/australia-new-vehicle-sales-ev-2035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">target</a> to increase the share of electric vehicles in new light vehicle sales to 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2035 to transition to a decarbonized transport system.</p>


Chemical Firm Himadri Invests $7 Million in Australian Battery Startup Sicona

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