GreenRoc secures grant of £0.25m from Automotive Transformation Fund

Greenland-focussed mineral developer GreenRoc Mining has secured a grant of £0.25m from the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) in the UK, it announced on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm said the financial boost was designated for a feasibility study to explore establishing a graphite spheronisation processing plant on UK soil.

It said the facility would produce active anode material, particularly coated spherical purified graphite (cSPG), using graphite concentrate sourced from GreenRoc’s Amitsoq Graphite Project in southern Greenland.

Administered by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), the ATF’s funding programme was designed to propel the UK towards a net-zero automotive industry by disbursing government funds and providing support.

The grant to GreenRoc aligned with ATF’s vision as it recognised that the prospective feasibility study could wield significant strategic advantages for the UK.

It said that included bolstering the security of supply chains and fortifying resilience in the evolving electric vehicle (EV) battery sector - vital in the larger context of the burgeoning electric automobile industry.

GreenRoc saw the grant as a positive stride towards constructing a sturdy supply chain for anode material, which is imperative for producing EV batteries and fuel cells, thus reinforcing the British automotive industry.

The company said it would spearhead the project management of the feasibility study, starting in the autumn with an expected completion by May.

Expertise would be leveraged from four specialised consultancy firms - Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, SLR, ProGraphite, and Decision Risk Analytics, to ensure that the study is executed efficiently and provide comprehensive insights into the project’s viability.

“It is with great pleasure that we can announce today that Great Britain’s Automotive Transformation Fund has awarded GreenRoc a significant grant towards the funding of a feasibility study into the manufacturing of active anode material or cSPG in the UK using graphite concentrate from GreenRoc’s world-class Amitsoq Deposit in southern Greenland,” said chief executive officer Stefan Bernstein.

“This grant funding represents a step forward in establishing a robust supply chain of anode material for EV batteries and fuel cells and will also help bolster the British car industry’s competitiveness in the race to supply electric vehicles to the European market.”

Bernstein said he was “particularly happy”, as the grant showed government support for the firm’s ambition to supply the European gigafactory industry with anode material sourced from GreenRoc’s responsibly-mined graphite deposit in Greenland.

“Based on the outcome of the feasibility study, GreenRoc hopes to be able to make a strong business case for potential joint venture partners and investors to join forces with us to make the production of anode material in the UK a reality.”

At 1413 BST, shares in GreenRoc Mining were down 1.1% at 3.6p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.