RAIN Industries Ltd on Wednesday (October 9) said Northern Graphite Corporation and RAIN Carbon Inc have signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to collaboratively develop and commercialise advanced battery anode materials (BAM) for lithium-ion batteries, targeting the electric vehicle (EV) market.

RAIN Carbon Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of RAIN Industries Ltd.

Under the terms of the Joint Development Agreement, Northern and Rain will jointly develop and commercialise natural graphite BAM products designed to extend cycle life, enhance charging speed and reduce electrode swelling in lithium-ion battery cells.

This innovation addresses the stability gap between natural and synthetic graphite, enabling increased use of natural graphite in Electric Vehicle (EV) battery cells.

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The Joint Development Agreement follows the launch of Northern’s Battery Materials Group (NGCBM) in February and Rain’s announcement of its new Technology Innovation Center for Energy Storage Materials (Innovation Center) in August.

NGCBM included the acquisition of a fully equipped, state-of-the-art carbon and battery laboratory in Frankfurt, Germany capable of both producing BAM derived from the Northern’s Lac-des-Îles graphite mine in Canada and of building lithium-ion batteries according to the specifications of automakers seeking critical characteristics, ranging from cycle life and driving range to charging speed.

RAIN’s Innovation Center in Hamilton, Canada allows product and application development activities of battery-grade carbon and carbon precursor products in a 30,000 square feet development facility including demonstration plants or the pilot-scale processing of carbon and carbon precursor materials along with laboratories dedicated to the carbon material analysis with state-of-the-art powder and electrochemical testing equipment.

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Northern’s Chief Executive Officer, Hugues Jacquemin, said, “This exclusive JDA is a significant milestone for our companies and the industry, as it enables increased use of natural graphite in battery anode materials by lowering costs and addressing the environmental concerns linked to synthetic graphite while enhancing key performance metrics such as cycle life, charging speed and stability.”

“We are delighted to partner with Northern in this development collaboration, which will allow us to expand and tailor our existing portfolio of LIONCOAT battery-grade carbon precursors, while also advancing new, efficient and sustainable coating technologies through our Innovation Center in Hamilton, Canada,” said RAIN’s President, Gerard Sweeney.

Shares of RAIN Industries Ltd ended at ₹165.40, down by ₹0.90, or 0.54% on the BSE.