NextSource Materials Inc. has announced that commissioning of its Molo Graphite Mine in Madagascar has been initiated, and the installation of the solar and battery facility for the hybrid power plant is in progress.
The hybrid power plant consists of a thermal generation facility, which is already in operation, and a solar and battery facility – consisting of a 2.6 MW solar PV facility and a 1MWh battery energy storage system. The thermal facility currently supplies all of the plant’s power requirement, and, once completed, the solar and battery facility will provide up to 33% of the mine’s total electricity needs using renewable energy.
Craig Scherba, President and CEO, comments:
“Commissioning of the Molo Graphite Mine is a testament to the hard work and perseverance of our employees and contractors who have brought this project from design through to implementation in the midst of a global pandemic and shifting geopolitical landscape. That hard work has placed the company in an enviable position, as it transitions into a global graphite producer at a time when graphite consumption is increasing dramatically, due to the explosive growth in demand for lithium-ion batteries.
“NextSource is taking advantage of this tremendous market opportunity by creating a substantive niche for itself within the global lithium-ion battery supply chain, through the commissioning of its first graphite mine and planned construction of its first battery anode facility.”