Australia-listed Element 25 (E25) has partnered with Nissan Chemical (NC) and NC Tokyo Bay (NCTB) to study the possibility of setting up a high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) facility in Chiba, Japan.

The study will consider co-locating E25’s low-emission technology and process at NCTB, which operates a sulphuric acid plant at the Chiba production facility, which can supply acid to the proposed project.  

NCTB also has substantial ancillary infrastructure, utilities and services that can be provided to the HPMSM project.

In addition, NCTB is located in Tokyo Bay and has private berths that can handle both liquid and bulk cargo, providing a logistics solution.

“The synergies of co-location are significant for both parties and the utilisation of existing industrial land and facilities fits perfectly with our vision to have a minimal ESG impact. This is of course possible thanks to our unique flowsheet which virtually eliminates solid waste. Japan and Australia have a long history of trade and share common goals, and this would be a fantastic opportunity to continue and strengthen those ties into the future,” said MD Justin Brown.

E25 entered into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NC and NCTB to evaluate the potential to jointly develop the HPMSM facility.

The MoU outlines several key steps including the identification of potential engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, the completion of scoping and feasibility studies, the finalisation of offtake agreements and the securing of sufficient project finance to reach a targeted final investment decision date of September 2026.

Japan, like many other countries, has designated manganese as a critical mineral and has legislated incentives to establish battery-related industries in Japan.

Manganese is becoming an increasingly important input into EV batteries as the technology shifts away from nickel-rich chemistries to high manganese and LMFP (manganese-doped LFP) cathodes. This transition is expected to generate increased demand for high purity manganese chemicals for use in the production of these batteries as the electric vehicle transition accelerates.