Red alert: Gladstone firm takes on battery danger

Queensland firm Alpha HPA has unveiled a technology breakthrough to combat potentially-deadly battery fires that threaten lives and property.

Alpha HPA managing director Rimas Kairaitis. Photo Steve Pohlner

Gladstone-based Alpha HPA has unveiled a breakthrough in the technology to combat potentially-deadly battery fires.

With lithium-ion (li-on) batteries causing a reported 1000 home fires in Australia last year, the producer of high-purity aluminium has announced a way to reduce the threat. Apha managing director Rimas Kairaitis says the company’s solution builds upon a process developed by world-leading battery anode manufacturer BTR New Materials in the 2010s, using high-purity aluminium nitrate to coat the battery anode with a fine layer of aluminium oxide.

The process has demonstrated a 100 per cent reduction in “thermal runaway events,” ensuring the safety of li-ion batteries. “Until now, commercialisation of this technology has been hindered by the lack of high-purity aluminium nitrate,’’ Kairaitis says.

Kairaitis says news reports of a battery being blamed for a fire that killed two people in Lake Macquarie last week was a tragic reminder of the hidden dangers of the batteries. “At its core, the li-ion battery operates on controlled oxidation reactions.

However, under certain conditions such as trauma or using lower quality materials, these reactions can become rapid and uncontrolled, leading to battery fires,” Kairaitis says.

Alpha has the flexibility to either provide the aluminium nitrate to customers, or apply the coating directly. The company is currently in discussions with 13 anode manufacturers and developers, with the aim of commercialising the technology.

Alpha’s penetration into the battery sector has been assisted by the recent appointment of Annie Liu as a company director. Liu was previously an executive director at Ford, and formerly managed Tesla’s multi-billion-dollar battery supply chain.

ASX-listed Alpha HPA is set to double its workforce to 120 and invest hundreds of millions of dollars over the next two years as it ramps up production of highly pure alumina products for use in computer chips and lithium ion batteries.

Sugar rush

Queensland Sugar Ltd managing director and chief executive Greg Beashel is heading for the exit doors, announcing his retirement after more than 24 years with the agricultural body.

Beashel, who will step down on June 30, spent 12 years as managing director where he played an integral role in the introduction of marketing choice for Queensland cane growers.

During this time, he has also been a vocal advocate for international trade reform as chair of The Global Alliance for Sugar Trade Reform and Liberalisation and a director of the Australian Sugar Industry Alliance.

Beashel says that his decision to retire from the industry-owned raw sugar marketing and logistics business had been a difficult one, but the time was right for renewal. “It has been a privilege to be a member of the talented and passionate QSL team, particularly during what has been a time of significant transformation in the marketing space,” he says.

Mark Hampson has been appointed as his replacement. Hampson has been with QSL since 2017 and is currently general manager marketing.

Helping hand

Queensland’s largest philanthropic organisation will provide a record amount of more than $725,000 to 32 charities supporting individuals, families and communities across the state, under the latest round of the Queensland Gives organizational capacity building funding program. Grants will go to projects which strengthen the capabilities of each charity and support their long-term sustainability for the benefit of future generations of Queenslanders.

Queensland Gives CEO Tara Castle says every dollar provided to the charities will help create stronger, happier and healthier communities into the future.

Originally published as Red alert: Gladstone firm takes on battery danger