Talga Group, a battery materials company, announced that it had received approval from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for €150 million (~$164 million) in senior debt funding to support its Vittangi Anode Project in Sweden.
The Vittangi Anode Project is a vertically integrated operation that will produce high-quality anode materials for lithium-ion batteries using 100% renewable electricity from a mine and anode refinery in northern Sweden. The project will have an initial capacity of 19,500 tonnes per annum of green anode, a key component of electric vehicle batteries.
The company aims to start production by late 2023 or early 2024.
Talga Managing Director, Mark Thompson, commented: “We are very pleased to have the support of the European Investment Bank as we move to the execution phase of the Vittangi Anode Project. The EIB approval represents a key milestone for Talga, the cornerstone of our debt financing package, and affirms the underlying strength of our business and capabilities to produce world-class critical battery materials in Europe.”
The EIB’s financing, subject to final negotiations, will form part of the debt financing package that Talga is finalizing with multiple leading export credit agencies, commercial banks, and international financial institutions. The company targets a debt gearing of up to 60% for the project. The loan documentation is being agreed upon between the EIB and Talga, including customary terms and conditions for a financing facility.
In March 2023, the European Commission proposed a Net-Zero Industry Act and a Critical Raw Materials Act. It set key targets for EU production of strategic technologies, including battery anode materials, and extracting critical raw materials, including natural graphite.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2023 Funding and M&A Report for Storage and Smart Grid, In Q1 2023, announced debt and public market financing for Energy Storage technologies decreased 58% QoQ, with $1.1 billion in eight deals compared to $2.6 billion in nine deals in Q4 2022.
