Here's why the Altech (ASX:ATC) share price is rocketing 11%

The Altech (ASX: ATC) share price is flying higher today, up 10.9%. We take a look at the ASX tech share's twin announcements.

Bernd Struben

Author bio Bernd Struben earned his BA in economics from the University of Michigan in 1991, with post-graduate studies in environmental economics at the University of Connecticut. Over the years he’s written about and analysed the tourism industry in the Caribbean; Europe’s commercial real estate markets; and, since moving to Australia in 2010, global and Aussie share markets. Bernd studies geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, alongside sector and company specific data, to gauge what he believes could be tomorrow's best investments. In his free time, you might find Bernd at the beach with his family or working on his next science fiction novel. Areas of expertise Australian and global share markets Macroeconomic and geopolitical trends Real estate Education Economics, University of Michigan Favorite investment quote "The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'This time it's different." — Sir John Templeton

Published March 15, 2021 1:11 pm AEDT

The Altech Chemicals Ltd (ASX: ATC) share price is flying higher today, up 10.9% at 6.1 cents at the time writing, having earlier posted gains of more than 16%.

We take a look at the tech share's twin announcements to the ASX below.

ASX lithium shares record A line-up of green lithium batteries, indicating positive share price movement for clean ASX lithium miners — Image source: Getty Images

Battery performance

First, Altech reports that it has completed its phase 1 testing of battery performance of "graphite particles coated with high purity alumina (HPA)". The coating was done with Altech's proprietary technology. The trial included 100 cycle battery tests.

The company said that the performance met its expectations, and it plans additional tests to demonstrate repeatability. The graphite particle coating has the potential to increase the capacity, chargeability and life of lithium-ion batteries.

Commenting on the initial results, Altech general manager operations Jingyuan Liu said:

We now have to optimise the testing conditions and conduct additional tests to demonstrate repeatability and consistency. The performance of the alumina coated graphite is meeting our expectations so far.

Silica alumina coating breakthrough

In Altech's second announcement, the company reported a breakthrough in its silicon alumina coating development.

The company said it had successfully applied its "alumina nanolayer coating technology to the coating of silicon particles, typical of those used in anode applications within lithium-ion batteries".

Altech noted silicon has 10 times more energy capacity than graphite and pointed to Tesla Inc's (NASDAQ: TSLA) recently announced intent to increase the amount of silicon in its batteries to improve battery life and energy density.

Addressing the breakthrough, Jingyuan Liu said:

We are very encouraged by the excellent coating results achieved from the application of our technology, it has the potential to significantly increase the use of silicon in lithium-ion battery anode and consequently the potential to increase battery energy density, overall performance and longevity.

The next step is to further optimise the coating process.

Altech share price snapshot

Over the past full year, the Altech share price is up 3%. That compares to a 38% gain on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Year-to-date Altech shares have gained 55%.

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