The Talga Group Ltd (ASX: TLG) share price is slipping this morning after news of the company's electric vehicle anode (EVA) qualification plant. The up-and-coming plant will be located in Northern Sweden, supplying European battery and electric vehicle manufacturers with ultra-low emission graphite anodes.
Talga also owns three graphite mines and one cobalt mine in Sweden, and a processing facility in Germany. Its headquarters are in Perth. It states that its vertical integration provides it with a shorter, more secure supply chain and a local market.
The Talga share price is down 1%, trading at $1.43 at the time of writing.
Let's take a closer look at the news announced by Talga this morning.
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EVA purchase plans
Today, Talga shared that, as part of the development of its EVA plant, it is engaging with battery and electric vehicle manufactures. The company said these talks were to work towards purchase agreements for the plant's planned output.
Talga also provided an update from the EVA plant. The company advised that designs for the plant had been finalised and engineering work was progressing well. It has now placed orders for the materials and equipment needed to build the plant.
The company stated the continuation of works was thanks in part to an equity raising held in December.
Talga's flagship Talnode-C graphite anode product is currently being qualified in a range of lithium-ion battery applications. As a result, Talga needs to increase its production of commercial Talnode-C sample quantities, particularly for the electric vehicle market.
Therefore, the EVA plant is critical for the company's progression into the electric vehicle supply chain.
Talga hopes to commence its EVA plant's installation in the fourth quarter of 2021.
As well as anode production, the EVA plant will house a battery materials laboratory which will include battery cell making facilities for cycle testing and quality control.
It will employ around 10 people, and recruitment has already begun.
Commentary from management
Talga managing director Mark Thompson said the EVA plant was a key step in the company's partnering and product qualification process.
Talga's existing demonstration and pilot facilities have taken our flagship Talnode®-C product through a range of customer qualification stages.
The EVA plant will now provide the larger EV quality anode samples that our automotive battery customers require for their procurement processes and planned production schedules.
Talga share price snapshot
The ASX hasn't been great for Talga in 2021. Currently, the Talga share price is down 21% year to date. Though, it is up an impressive 381% over the last 12 months.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $438 million, with approximately 303 million shares outstanding.
