PROCESS Insights 2020-05
Challenges for EPC Contractors

With an influx of largescale petrochemical construction projects, EPC Contractors will have to be confronted with challenges such as finding enough capacity and quality of construction manpower, delayed permits etc. which require an EPC strategy to stay competitive in this ever-growing market.

This 12-page Process Insight will discuss the current changes in the EPC business and the impact of these changes on EPC projects. Besides the effect of the Coronavirus as well as the current oil price crash on the contracting industry will also be analyzed and an outlook for the industry will be given.

Vianode’s industrial pilot in Kristiansand, Norway, has already started qualification processes with several battery cell producers.

“The opening of the industrial pilot is an important milestone towards industrial scale production of sustainable battery materials in Norway and the Western world. We expect considerable synergies from the production and research environment in Kristiansand related to today’s and tomorrow’s battery applications. The experiences from operating the industrial pilot will be key input in the work of building the large-scale plant for battery materials at Herøya Industrial Park, the first step in building a leading global advanced battery materials producer”, says Chris York, Vice President at Vianode.

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries typically consist of four main components: An anode, a cathode, an electrolyte and a separator.

“Today, anode materials are one of the largest greenhouse gas emission contributors in battery cell production. Vianode intends to reduce emissions from this part of the battery materials value chain by more than 90 percent compared to conventional production”, says Stian Madshus, Vice President and General Manager Europe at Vianode.

Vianode is currently in dialogue with a number of battery cell manufacturers globally and entered into a memorandum of understanding related to the supply of battery materials with FREYR in October 2020.

A positive investment decision for a large-scale battery materials plant in Norway requires competitive public support mechanisms and supportive government policies. Vianode has already received financial support from Enova, the Norwegian Government body which contributes towards low emissions, to fund the initial planning of the potential large-scale battery materials plant in Norway. Additional applications will be submitted to Enova over the coming months in relation to the large-scale plant.

Vianode has also previously received grants from Innovation Norway related to the pilot plant, and is on the shortlist for support from EU’s Innovation Fund with preliminary scores in the upper tier in relation to degree of innovation, project maturity and relative GHG emissions.

Vianode is continuing to carry out advanced research on silicon-graphite composite materials for improved battery performance. The company is participating in the Hydra and 3believe research projects on next generation lithium-ion batteries, coordinated by Sintef and the Austrian Institute of Technology, respectively. Both projects have received funding from the EU Horizon program. Vianode is also investing in R&D on recycling of battery-grade graphite which is supported by the Norwegian Research Council.

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