Mitra Chem and Sun Chemical Announce Joint Development of United States Iron Phosphate with Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) Co-location

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Jun 11, 2024, 15:45 ET

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitra Future Technologies, Inc. ("Mitra Chem"), a leading innovator in Inflation Reduction Act-compliant lithium-ion battery materials, and Sun Chemical, a diverse multinational specialty chemical company and the largest global producer of pigments, announced a joint project to develop the first iron phosphate mass production capability in North America with co-location with Mitra Chem's lithium iron phosphate production.

Together Mitra Chem and Sun Chemical will combine their unique and complementary expertise and innovative processes to produce battery grade iron phosphate at scale from domestic raw materials. Sun Chemical will leverage its 100 years of advanced particle engineering, expertise in manufacturing and production efficiency, existing regulatory permitting, and extensive U.S. manufacturing infrastructure. Mitra Chem will provide its state-of-the-art lab in Silicon Valley and acceleration platform that leverages machine learning and automation to unlock high throughput development and materials testing at 10x the speed of current industry practices. The companies have already achieved a proof-of-concept of iron phosphate and are optimizing a waste-free process.

"Sun Chemical is excited to work with Mitra Chem since confirming their cutting-edge approach to LFP design produces LFP with outstanding properties. Furthermore, a close collaboration with Mitra Chem will help innovate a production process for cost effective LFP intermediates from locally sourced raw materials," said Russell Schwartz, Chief Technology Officer of Sun Chemical.

"This partnership marks a turning point in U.S. design, innovation and production of critical electric vehicle battery components," said Mitra Chem CEO Vivas Kumar. "Sun Chemical is a pioneer in high quality pigment technologies for the automotive industry, which rely on similar design and manufacturing processes to iron phosphate, and together we are poised to ensure the United States maintains its leadership in the most advanced supply chain for the next generation of autos and energy storage."

This groundbreaking partnership represents a significant step forward in building a robust domestic electric vehicle battery supply chain that is cleaner, safer, faster, and independent of China. To date 100% of battery grade iron phosphate (FP) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) is produced outside of the United States, with 99% coming from China. This forces battery and vehicle manufacturers to be overly reliant on fragile supply chains too often plagued by lower environmental and safety standards. Sun Chemical's existing equipment and co-precipitation process scale-up expertise combined with Mitra Chem's product optimization capability will deliver a localized supply chain that meets cell and auto customers' technical requirements for high press density LFP. Co-location of Sun FP and Mitra Chem LFP production will deliver additional efficiencies.

About Mitra Chem

Mitra Chem is a leading energy innovator building cheaper, cleaner, and safer commercial battery materials to serve as the bedrock for global decarbonization efforts. Mitra offers IRA-compliant lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP). With a state-of-the-art lab, Mitra utilizes an acceleration platform that combines proprietary technology with AI capabilities and automation to shorten the industry's standard lab-to-market time by 90%. Mitra's iron-based battery cathode materials avoid the significant environmental and geopolitical supply chain challenges associated with nickel and cobalt. Mitra is establishing scale-up and commercial partnerships in the power, energy storage, and EV markets.

About Sun Chemical

Sun Chemical, a member of the DIC group, is a leading producer of printing inks, coatings and supplies, pigments, polymers, liquid compounds, solid compounds, and application materials. Together with DIC, Sun Chemical has annual sales of more than $7.5 billion and over 20,000 employees supporting customers around the world.

Sun Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of Sun Chemical Group Coöperatief U.A., the Netherlands, and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S.A. For more information, please visit our website at www.sunchemical.com or connect with us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

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SOURCE Mitra Chem