Canada Carbon announces positive results from graphite half-cell battery testing with Polaris Battery Labs, LLC.

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Feb. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada Carbon Inc. (the "Company" or "Canada Carbon" or "CCB") (TSX-V:CCB),(FF:U7N1) is pleased to announce it has successfully completed half-cell battery testing of its graphite material with Polaris Battery Labs, LLC (“Polaris”). Flake graphite provided for this testing was provided from Canada Carbons Miller Graphite Mine project (Miller) located in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Quebec.

Coin cells for Canada Carbon were assembled and tested by Polaris Battery Labs against a commercially available graphite baseline material for comparison. Both sets of cells were assembled using a lithium metal counter electrode, Wattman glass fiber separator and 1M LiPF6 in 3:7 EC:EMC electrolyte. The coin cells were tested according to Polaris' Batch Qualification regime to determine the first cycle loss, reversible capacity, and other key electrochemical parameters. 

Canada Carbons flake graphite material showed promising results in terms of capacity and first cycle loss in comparison to commercial baseline materials with ~6.5% first cycle loss and 353mAh/g reversible capacity which is above the commercial reference graphite material testing at an average 345mAh/g. Data indicates that improvements in rate performance are still needed to achieve commercial performance, however this can be attributed to flake graphite being used in comparison to commercially used CSPG (coated, spheroidized, purified graphite) which allows lithiation only on the edge plane leading to typically slower lithiation and delithiation rate capabilities. However, improvements in performance would likely be seen with additional post processing such as spheroidization and pitch coating which are used in commercial materials today.

Doug Morris, CEO and Director of Polaris Labs, stated: “These initial results from half-cell (coin cell) testing confirm excellent graphite properties. Given these positive results, we will now progress into testing of full pouch cells. These tests confirm that the Canada Carbon graphite material is suitable for anode material and electrode/battery markets. Canada Carbon and Polaris will continue the test program through out 2024.”

Highlights of this Study

Cell Materials and Testing:

• 8.89 mg/cm² mass loading calendared to 1.56 g/cm³
• 304SS CR2032 coin cell cans
• Whatman GF/F separator
  • 200 µm (fully compressed) glass fiber material used to separate the graphite anode from the lithium reference/counter electrode.
• 1.0 M LiPF6 in 3:7 EC:EMC electrolyte (Polaris Standard)
• Testing:
  • Estimated Cell Capacity: 5.82 mAhr
  • Formation: CC Dchg/Chg @ C/20
  • Cycle: CCCV Dchg/CC Chg w/ C/20 CV @ C/10, C/5, C/2, and C/10 (3x each rate)
• Formulation
  • Graphite – 94.5%
  • Imerys C65 – 1.5%
  • Wealthy Chem BH-1000 CMC – 1.5%
  • MTI SBR (dry basis) – 2.5%
• Mix Solids – 41.88%
• Mix Viscosity – 2,930 mPa*s
• FoG (Hegman) – no legible reading obtained.
  
  
  
  

Electrochemical Results:

• Irreversible capacity (first cycle loss) – 6.53% average
• Reversible delithiation capacity @ C/10 – ~353 mAh/g
  • Stabilized capacity at final C/10 cycles
  • Theoretical graphite capacity – 372 mAh/g
• Capacity stable up to C/2
• Cycling efficiency improvement

“These results are quite promising and demonstrate the capabilities of Canada Carbon’s graphite to meet the needs of battery producers. We fully expect performance to improve significantly as post processing activities (spheroidization, pitch coating, etc) occur for this specific material”, notes Shelly Whitlock, CEO for Iridian Labs.

Ellerton Castor, CEO of Canada Carbon shared ”We are encouraged by the positive electrochemical testing results of Miller flake graphite concentrate. This phase of testing with Polaris confirms our hypothesis about Miller: that the high quality and purity of the flake makes it well suited for applications beyond the nuclear power vertical. The implications for commercial scalability of the Miller deposit are far-reaching. With additional upgrading, such as spheroidization, we are confident that these improvements will give us the performance needed to have a deliver a premium product to the battery market.“

About Canada Carbon

Canada Carbon, Inc. is a Canadian mining company developing multiple natural graphite deposits geared to the Green Economy. CBB holds a 100% interest in two past producing graphite mines, the Miller and the Asbury mines, both located in Quebec. The Miller hydrothermal lump-vein historical graphite mine and surrounding property cover approximately 100 square kilometres (km)2 and is located 80 km west of Montreal in the township of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge. The Asbury Graphite Mine a past producing property made up of 25 active claims for a total of 1,384.59 hectares or 13.8 km². It is located 8.1km northeast of Notre-Dame-Du-Laus in the Laurentides Region of southern Quebec.

About Iridian

Iridian is a graphite R&D company tailored to the needs of the battery industry. Iridian provides batch qualification services including lab scale post graphite mining processing (I.e. spheroidization, graphitization and pitch coat), material characterization testing, and electrochemical assessments. Iridian’s graphite and battery expertise provides the key connection between the raw purified mined graphite material and a product that is ready for global battery markets.

About Polaris Labs

Polaris will help you to navigate to your destination to commercialize your new materials and technologies. We’ll build and test your cells to see how they perform. We’ll engineer processes for your next-generation technologies and offbeat ideas. We’ll be your battery consultants. Basically, we’re your experts for designing, building, and testing the materials and cells that will one day make up the batteries powering our world.

CANADA CARBON INC.

“Ellerton Castor”

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Contact Information

E-mail inquiries:   

P: (905) 407-1212

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking information” (“forward-looking information”) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this press release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as “expects”, or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, “plans”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “estimates”, “believes” or “intends” or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results “may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this press release includes statements regarding the development of the Company’s Miller deposit and financing thereof, the entering of the joint venture with Irondequoit Offering, future production from the Company’s Miller deposit, sales agreements and other matters related thereto. In disclosing the forward-looking information contained in this press release, the Company has made certain assumptions. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking information will prove to be correct. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include but are not limited to: compliance with extensive government regulations; financial abilities; the ability to develop the Miller deposit; domestic and foreign laws and regulations adversely affecting the Company’s business and results of operations; the impact of COVID-19; and general business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking information or otherwise.

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