Explosives maker Orica looks to expand into battery chemicals

Alpha HPA

01/06/2023 08:52

By Melanie Burton
       MELBOURNE, June 1 (Reuters) - Explosives maker Orica
 ORI.AX  plans to expand into supplying chemicals to help purify
metals for use in the rapidly growing battery sector, looking at
acquisitions and developing its own business, its CEO said on
Thursday.
    The push comes amid concerns that Australia, while looking
to reap more value from its mineral wealth in the energy
transition, does not yet have chemicals makers to support a
processing industry to supply battery manufacturers.
    "My ambition is to get access to a portfolio of mining
chemicals that help in the extraction and purification of future
facing commodities," Sanjeev Gandhi told media after speaking at
an industry lunch. 
    "There's a lot of chemistry that goes into copper
purification, nickel purification, lithium ... to convert ore
into usable product is all chemistry. And that chemistry is what
I'm really looking for in terms of growing my portfolio." 
    Orica is looking both at developing and acquiring those
businesses, he said, in chemicals that do not compete with its
mining customers. 
    Gandhi, who has helmed the world's biggest explosives maker
for the past two years, worked for 26 years at German chemicals
giant BASF  BASFn.DE , which has a battery materials business.
    As the world's battery supply chains take shape, Australia
needs to focus on what it does best, Gandhi said. 
   "If we pretended that we were to catch up and start making
batteries here, I think we're kidding ourselves. But what we can
do is go a step further. From extracting the ore to purifying it
and putting it in saleable form."
    Orica also wants to grow in North America working with Alpha
HPA  A4N.AX , an Australian company that makes high purity
aluminium products for applications including lithium-ion
batteries for electric vehicles.
    "The environmental footprint of that technology has to be
zero, otherwise automotive OEMs (original equipment
manufacturers) will not touch them," Gandhi said.
    Orica supplies reagents to Alpha HPA.
    "We could scale this up as time goes on, but they need now
to get these commercial negotiations with the automotive
industry going first."
    Alpha HPA, which also makes products used in low-carbon LED
lighting and high-power semi-conductors, is preparing for a
phased expansion, Managing Director Rimas Kairaitis said in an
emailed request for comment.  
    "Alpha looks forward to working with Orica on future
expansions," he said.
    

 (Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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