Canadian battery materials company Nano One has reaffirmed its target of securing its first commercial lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material supply agreements by the end of 2026 as the company prepares for a change in leadership.
The company announced that chief operating officer Alex Holmes will succeed founder and chief executive Dan Blondal as CEO on 12 June. Blondal, who founded Nano One in 2011, will continue to support the company through the remainder of 2026 to assist with the transition.
In a letter to stakeholders, Holmes said Nano One remains on track to pursue initial commercial LFP supply agreements in the defence and energy storage sectors before the end of this year.
“Our public target is initial commercial LFP supply agreements for defence and energy-storage applications by the end of 2026, with first deliveries and meaningful sales ramping through 2027 as our Candiac demonstration line scales toward commissioned capacity of approximately 800 tonnes per annum,” he said.
The company said defence contractors serving NATO countries and energy storage system manufacturers represent its primary near-term commercial focus, with automotive applications expected to follow later.
Holmes said the company’s strategy of focusing on LFP cathode materials before the chemistry became widely adopted outside China had positioned Nano One to benefit from growing demand for localised battery supply chains.
“According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s (BNEF) 2024 CAM market report, LFP is now projected to represent more than half of the lithium-ion cathode market, with most future growth expected outside of China. The question is no longer whether LFP matters—it is who, outside of China, can produce it at scale.”
Nano One said it has continued to advance its commercialisation plans through partnerships with mining and battery materials companies, including Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Metal Mining.
Holmes noted that the company has validated lithium feedstock from Rio Tinto and expanded its collaboration with Sumitomo Metal Mining, which announced an enhanced partnership with Nano One in 2025.
“After two years of development work, performance testing, economic modelling, and intellectual property review, they confirmed Nano One in September 2025 as a key technology partner and announced an expanded collaboration to pursue LFP production together,” Holmes said.
The company also highlighted growing policy support in North America, Europe and other allied jurisdictions for battery materials supply chains outside China, citing increasing government interest in critical minerals, energy security and defence-related supply chains.
Addressing shareholders, Holmes acknowledged that previous commercial milestones had been delayed as battery manufacturers and automotive customers refined their LFP strategies and qualification requirements.
“We have set our goals more conservatively, we are communicating them more carefully, and we are reporting progress with greater discipline,” he said.
Nano One’s proprietary One-Pot process is designed to simplify the production of LFP cathode active materials while reducing waste streams and enabling the use of a wider range of feedstocks. The company currently operates a pilot and demonstration facility in Candiac, Quebec, which it acquired in 2022.
Outgoing CEO Blondal led the company for 15 years and oversaw the development of its intellectual property portfolio, which now comprises more than 50 patents related to cathode material production.
