Crude oil Refiner Phillips 66 is eyeing the new energy markets with a $150 million investment in synthetic graphite producer Novonix.
The firm aims to become part of a fully domestic US supply chain for lithium-ion battery production as demand for the components ramps up.
Under the terms of the agreement, Phillips 66 will subscribe for 77,962,578 ordinary shares of Australia-headquartered Novonix (around 16%) for a total purchase price of $150 million.
Phillips 66 will also nominate one director to Novonix’s board of directors.
This investment will enable Phillips 66’s Emerging Energy organisation leverage in the markets as it builds a lower-carbon business platform.
For Novonix, the investment will enable it to increase its anode materials business in Tennessee from 10,000 metric tons per year of synthetic graphite by 2023 to 40,000 MT/year by 2025.
The company partly intends to align its specialty coke business, which is used by companies like Novonix to make material for anodes, with clients in the lithium-ion battery chain.
Partnering with a company like Novonix allows Phillips 66 to better understand how to tailor its coke products to perform better, chief executive Greg Garland said.