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The industry is conservative. Any know-how means a change from an efficient process, i.e., means risk. At the same time, innovations improve performance and allow for capturing new markets. We will tell you, from where our industry draws validated ideas.
The IN’HUB Industrial Congress of Innovations and Productivity initiated by Nornickel has already been such a platform for the third year. In September 2024, it was held in Murmansk and brought together directors and experts of innovative projects from 80 companies. Nornickel presented several innovations at the congress, and we will describe two of the most important and efficient. We also will describe an innovative new project.

Electrolysis baths or high-purity nickel

To produce High Purity nickel (99.99%) a specialized pilot plant was created. It is used for after-treatment of ordinary catholyte from the residual impurities of Ferrum, Zinc and Cobalt with the help of resins.

Studies into the development of ion exchange resins have been going on since long ago, back from 2022. As a result of lengthy experiments, resin was selected, which is used in the uranium industry. It turned out to be effective for removing impurities from nickel. Replacement of copper busbars with nickel ones produced in-house, i.e., those made from nickel cathodes, and coating the rods with nickel allowed for a 36 fold reduction in electrolyzer copper content.
To manufacture Plating Grade nickel (99.97%) the cathode gauge should be 13–18 mm and the cathode edge should be smooth. To achieve this, the Company specialists increased the distance between cathode and anode and installed frames shielding the cathode edges. This means that these frames help prevent asperities on the cathode surface and edges.

To maintain low copper concentrations in electrolyzers, the cathode rods were coated with nickel. To decrease the zinc content, zinc cleaner throughput was increased from 41 up to 55 m3 per hour.

Revenues from processing production waste

Waste is inevitably generated when producing nickel — the lowest H3 and H4 grades. In 2023, waste volumes at Kola MMC amounted to 8%. There is no demand for such products, and it is too expensive to melt them. At the same time, there is a shortage of nickel sulfate in Russia, which is needed for batteries, catalysts and galvanizing processes. The shortage was covered by supplies from China.

Now the production of nickel sulfate is organized at Kola MMC; the plan is to grow the output there in order to eliminate the national shortage in 2025–2026.

H3 and H4 waste is dissolved, then the solution is evaporated and valuable crystals are obtained. Starting from April 2024, the Company sold 42 t of nickel sulfate. The investment into the project amounted to RUB 52.2 mln, the potential economic effect may amount to RUB 344 mln.

Materials for manufacturing batteries

At the end of 2022, Nornickel opened the Battery Technology Center in St.-Petersburg. So far, its solutions have not been presented at IN’HUB. The Center is busy with R&D in the sphere of Ni-containing cathode materials for manufacturing batteries.

Approximately USD 30 mln was invested into equipment and in-house solutions for the unique process . As of today, only the USA, Germany and China have similar technologies. The quality of cathode materials manufactured by the Battery Center was confirmed by independent laboratories.

The team, comprising 40 specialists, strives for increasing the capacity and stability of cathode materials. The ultimate goal is to wrest leadership from Chinese lithium-ion batteries, which currently have an 80% share of the Russian market.
The specialists of the Battery Center also are working on creating new types of batteries, e.g., sodium-ion batteries. They fit better for e-vehicles in the conditions of Russia’s cold winter, but their power capacity is still less than the lithium-ion batteries. In future, the team of the Center plans to develop the batteries based on solid electrolyte.

Nornickel will not be manufacturing finished batteries, and Rosatom will assemble the batteries and sell them in the markets of Russia and friendly countries. The companies are closely cooperating in this project. Rosatom has already commenced construction of a plant to manufacture 4 GW*h per annum lithium-ion batteries in Kaliningrad region.
VITALY BUSKO,
Nornickel Vice President for Innovations:

“Our Battery Center is the most modern one. Everything created here represents the results of our in-house research. As of today, we have passed two stages: from receiving dozens of grams of cathode materials per one synthesis session to dozens of kilograms.

The next stage will be the construction of the pilot plant with the throughput of 10 tons per annum. Building a full-fledged plant will follow as the next stage; it will have a throughput of up to 10,000 tons per annum.

Overall, we assessed the Russian market demand in active cathode materials by 2030 as 10,000 t, while the global market demand will be making millions of tons”.
The world stands on the verge of a new industrial revolution. Implementing innovations and financing R&D is a business investment into their future.
Photos by Nornickel

November, 2024
2024-12-03 15:46 Governance Russia Trends