A pre-feasiblity study to determine the viability of manufacturing large-cell lithium-ion batteries in South Africa will start in the second half of 2010.
And with South Africa's first electric car, the Joule, expected to be manufactured either in the East London or Coega industrial development zone, it is logical that a battery plant will be located at the same site.
Large-cell lithium-ion batteries are used in electric vehicles and stationary power storage applications.
Industrial Development Corporation strategic high-impact projects senior manager Retief Bruwer said the study would determine whether it made economic sense for a partnership to establish such a manufacturing plant in South Africa.
The partnership comprises South African electric car manufacturer Optimal Energy, which is planning mass production of the Joule by 2012, South Korea's Energy Innovation Group, which manufactures lithium-ion batteries, and the IDC.
The project is being driven by the IDC, which is an investor in Optimal Energy and plans to be a shareholder in the battery production facility should the project come to fruition.
Bruwer said: "We have finished the scoping study. Batteries produced at such a plant would be used in the Joule electric vehicle. However, it should not be limited to the Joule; it could also serve other vehicle manufacturers."
The plant's likely production capacity would be 20-million cells a year but this would be verified by the study, he said. Each Joule would use about 400 cells.
Bruwer said the pre-feasibility study would also look at a variety of stationary power-generation applications for which the batteries could be used.
Lithium-ion batteries were used to about 80 percent of their capacity in automotive applications, he said, after which they could find a second life in stationary applications or be recycled.
Should the pre-feasibility study be positive the project participants would move on to a bankable feasibility study, Bruwer said.
He added that the IDC viewed the project as a significant economic opportunity, not only to establish a truly South African vehicle brand but also to position the country in this rapidly developing sector of the motor industry.
PARALLEL STUDY
Also, should battery production be established in South Africa, Bruwer said, it would open a new segment in the automotive industry for local manufacturers while also creating opportunities in a number of spin-off sectors.
"We're talking batteries, power electronics, IT systems and electric motors," he explained.
Bruwer added that the IDC was planning a parallel study to determine the existence of economically viable lithium and other related mineral resources in South Africa and the rest of the continent.
"We will be looking at anybody who does any value-add to lithium or other minerals that form part of the lithium-ion battery value chain, including the production of other ingredients such as electrolytes and anode materials." - I-Net Bridge