Bechtel to Conduct Engineering Study for Battery Tech Production

Helping Sicona Battery Technologies plan the construction of an electric vehicle battery component manufacturing site in the United States

RESTON, Va., Feb. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bechtel was awarded a contract by Sicona Battery Technologies to perform an engineering study for a U.S. manufacturing plant that will produce the cutting-edge battery anode components needed for electric vehicles.

"Bechtel will help Sicona deliver a long-lasting positive impact on the electric vehicle revolution," said Catherine Hunt Ryan, President of Manufacturing & Technology at Bechtel. "Making batteries is a complex process. Bechtel is a trusted partner to deliver capital programs so that our customers can focus on evolving and deploying their technology."

As part of the new work, Bechtel will assess what is needed to plan the construction of a battery component manufacturing plant – optimizing manufacturing area designs, design requirements, utilities, equipment, materials, and developing a project cost estimate.

"Due to significant interest in our materials from North American automotive companies, we are focusing our efforts on building Sicona's first commercial-scale manufacturing plant in the United States," said Christiaan Jordaan, CEO and founder of Sicona. "We are excited to work with Bechtel to make our first U.S. plant a reality." 

"Bechtel's customers build technologies across the electric vehicle value chain," said Justin Britt, General Manager for Electric Vehicles at Bechtel. "We are proud to help customers pursue new infrastructure for electrifying transportation, from material processing and battery manufacturing to recycling and electric vehicle charging stations."

About Bechtel
Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction, and project management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by the quality of our people and our relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, we align our capabilities to our customers' objectives to create a lasting positive impact. Since 1898, we have helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world's infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place. 

Bechtel serves the Energy; Infrastructure; Manufacturing & Technology; Mining & Metals; and Nuclear, Security & Environmental markets. Our services span from initial planning and investment, through start-up and operations. www.bechtel.com

About Sicona
Sicona develops next-generation battery materials technology used in the anodes (negative electrodes) of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that enable electric mobility and storage of renewable energy. Sicona is commercializing an innovative silicone-composite battery anode technology, developed and perfected at the Australian Institute for Innovative Materials. Sicona's silicon-composite anode technology delivers 50-100% higher capacity than conventional graphite anodes, and its anode materials can deliver significantly higher cell energy density than current Li-ion batteries. www.siconabattery.com

Media Contact:
Brad Bucher
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SOURCE Bechtel