Richlister Trevor St Baker gets $3.8m boost from Novonix deal with LG Energy Solution

Queensland billionaire Trevor St Baker’s investment in Novonix got a 20 per cent boost after the Brisbane battery materials firm signed a landmark $45m deal.

Energy billionaire Trevor St Baker recharges his Nissan Leaf. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

It’s been a tough year for Queensland billionaire Trevor St Baker’s investment in battery materials firm Novonix but things are definitely looking up.

Shares in Novonix surged Wednesday after it sealed a $45m tie up with LG Energy Solution, one of the biggest makers of electric car batteries in the world.

Novonix’s ASX share closed up almost 20 per cent at $1.16. St Baker Energy Holdings holds about 4.16 per cent of Novonix equivalent to 20.2m shares, meaning its stake in the Brisbane-based firm surged more than $3.8m.

Still the dual-listed company is down 21 per cent on the ASX and 32 per cent on Nasdaq so far this year amid investor disappointment with its earnings. At its peak in December 2021 the stock was trading as high as $12.47.

Novonix chief executive Chris Burns says the landmark deal with the South Korean giant will help cement the Brisbane company’s ambition to become a leading supplier of artificial graphite anode material for batteries.

Synthetic graphite is prized in lithium-ion battery applications for its high purity that enables fast charging, cycle performance,and longevity.

Trevor St Baker

The deal comes as President Joe Biden moves to strengthen the North American battery supply chain amid surging demand for batteries for electric cars and homes.

LG Energy Solution and Hyundai Motor Group have announced they will build a $US4.3bn plant to make batteries for electric vehicles in Savannah, Georgia. LG now has eight battery plants currently operating or being constructed in the US.

Under the agreement with LG, Novonix will issue $US30m ($45m) of unsecured convertible notes to LG Energy as part of the tie up that also includes an option to provide up to 50,000 tonnes of anode material over a 10-year period from the start of mass production.

More than 10 million electric cars were sold worldwide last year, mostly in the US, China and Europe, with sales expected to grow by another 35 per cent this year to reach 14 million.

Novonix 's Chattanooga plant ramping up production

Good strategy

Amena Reza has joined Brisbane-based architecture practice bureau^proberts in the newly created role of head of strategy and operations.

Reza has served as a member of the bureau^proberts. advisory board for the past five years and in her new role will guide the practice into its next phase of expansion both locally and internationally. She has previously worked at ML Design as the firm’s financial controller, finance director and managing director.

Since 2017, she has held several executive roles as well as consulting to both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. She is currently the deputy chair of the RSPCA Qld.

Amena Reza

Keeping it light

Nathan Hayman has replaced Dennis Stark at the helm of prepared meal business Lite n’ Easy. The 39-year-old previously served as chief operating officer and head of supply chain at the Banyo-based business. Prior to that he was supply chain manager at Amcor. Stark, who was chief executive for two years, is now a director of Stark Engineering. Hayman says he aims to take advantage of the surprise collapse of weight loss giant Jenny Craig that will see players within the competitive pre-made meals sector jockeying to gain a larger slice of the market. The $2bn sector grew over the Covid pandemic with stay-at-home customers taking up products from more than 200 companies in Australia including Lite n’ Easy, McCain Foods, Heat to Eat, My Muscle Chef and Youfoodz.