The main equipment items for our purified graphite research and development program have arrived at the Collie plant.

The centrepiece is the new CX Induction Laboratory Graphitisation Furnace – the first of its kind in Australia.

Capable of temperatures up to 3000°C, the furnace is leading-edge technology for the thermal purification of raw materials and will enable our engineers and R&D specialists to purify graphite to >99.99% carbon.

The extreme heat treatment is a vital step in the process of thermal coating and graphitisation of lithium battery negative electrode material (battery anode materials) and graphitisation of synthetic polymers, or artificial graphite.

The equipment will also open the doors to an expanded range of IG products, including research into the heat treatment of graphene.