Northvolt Is Working on Wood-Based Batteries

• Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt will work to use anode made from lignin-based hard carbon, sourced from Nordic forest wood material, in battery production.

• A pilot plant exists for the production of Lignode, as the material set to replace graphite—typically sourced from China—is called.

• Northvolt will work with Stora Enso to source the hard carbon and scale up production, but has not given a timeline regarding when we might see it in production EV batteries.

There is no shortage of established companies and startups alike working on solid-state battery compositions—which promise higher energy density, lighter weight, faster recharge times, and less reliance on mining of rare metals—as current lithium-ion batteries are seen as living on borrowed time. New types of compounds that could be used in new battery compositions, whether solid-state or not, depend on which developer you ask, and most will only tell you very general information.

Swedish battery producer Northvolt, which has recently secured deals with Volvo, Volkswagen, and others, has teamed up with Finnish paper and pulp producer Stora Enso to produce a battery that would feature an anode made from lignin-based hard carbon, sourced from Nordic forest wood. The sustainably sourced anode material would be part of the first industrialized battery featuring raw materials sourced entirely from Europe—far from the case at the moment. The two companies have signed a joint development agreement to mass produce this type of battery anode, dubbed Lignode.

"The joint battery development with Northvolt marks a step on our journey to serve the fast-growing battery market with renewable anode materials made from trees," said Johanna Hagelberg, executive vice president for Biomaterials at Stora Enso. "Our lignin-based hard carbon, Lignode by Stora Enso, will secure the strategic European supply of anode raw material, serving the sustainable battery needs for applications from mobility to stationary energy storage."

Current lithium-ion batteries used in EVs are composed of the anode, cathode, electrolyte, and separator. The cathode serves as the source of lithium ions, while the anode stores and then releases lithium ions from the cathode; the electrolyte is the medium that helps the ions to move, with the separator preventing contact between the cathode and the anode. The anodes used in most EV batteries are mostly composed of synthetic graphite, while cathodes are composed of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium.

By weight, the graphite in the anode accounts for about one-third of the battery's weight. Currently, battery manufacturers have been buying graphite that has been processed for use in batteries, with about three quarters of the raw graphite being bought from China. Shifting to a material based on wood and producing it locally from forests presents an opportunity to localize the production of the anode material.

As part of this cooperation, Northvolt will focus on cell design and scale-up of this technology, while Stora Enso will provide the lignin-based Lignode, which is understood to be at a pilot production stage at the moment.

"With this partnership, we are exploring a new source of sustainable raw material and expanding the European battery value chain, while also developing a less expensive battery chemistry. It is an exciting demonstration of how our pursuit of a sustainable battery industry goes hand-in-hand with creating a positive impact both on society and cost,” said Emma Nehrenheim, chief environmental officer at Northvolt.