Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) shares were flying this morning after the company announced it will extend its research sponsorship agreement with Dalhousie University. At one stage during morning trade, the Novonix share price was up nearly 11% to $2.99.
However, at the time of writing, Novonix shares have retreated to $2.73, up 1.11% for the day so far.
What moved the Novonix share price?
The Novonix share price is climbing today after the company reported extending its sponsorship of Professor Mark Obravac's Research Group for a further five years.
The research agreement was signed by the company's wholly-owned, Canadian based subsidiary Novonix Battery Technology. The research agreement comes under the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada's Alliance Grants Program.
Under the new agreement, Novonix will contribute C$1.11 million over a 5-year period. This funding will be used by the research group to purchase equipment and research materials to support students and researchers.
In exchange, Novonix will have first rights to the intellectual property developed from the agreement.
In the company's announcement, Novonix acknowledged the importance of the new agreement. The company's chief executive, Dr Chirs Burns, noted that "It has been extremely valuable to have a team focused on new materials projects across a range of battery materials".
The company's management highlighted that multiple patent application filings have come from the research agreement, including patents related to dry particle micro granulation.
How has Novonix been performing?
Novonix develops and commercialises high-performance materials, equipment, and services for the lithium-ion battery industry. The company is focused on electric vehicle and energy storage applications that require long life and high performance.
Late last month, Novonix made headlines after its US-based subsidiary, PUREgraphite, was selected to receive a US$5.6 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for new technology development.
Under the grant, PUREgraphite will partner with Harper International and Phillips 66, with the funding used to support the development of a new, high-efficiency furnace technology for lithium-ion battery synthetic graphite material.
Foolish takeaway
The Novonix share price has surged more than 120% since the start of the year, hitting an all-time high of $4.23 late last month. Since then, Novonix shares have been sold down to their current level.
Based on the current Novonix share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $946 million.
