Altech Advanced Materials AG together with Altech Chemicals Limited, Australia has formed a subsidiary, Altech Energy Holdings (Altech Group). Altech Advanced Materials holds a 25% stake in the new Altech Energy Holdings. Altech Group has entered into a joint venture agreement with the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS), a leading German battery institute, to commercialise a solid-state sodium-alumina battery (CERENERGY®).

For this purpose, Altech Batteries GmbH will be founded jointly, with Altech Energy Holding GmbH owning 75 %. The aim of Altech Batteries GmbH is to build a production plant for CERENERGY® solid-state batteries. The first line with an annual output of 100 MWh is to be implemented at the Schwarze Pumpe site in Saxony.

In CERENERGY® batteries, high-purity aluminum oxide is used for the ceramic solid electrolyte, and the cathode medium used is only common salt and not lithium. CERENERGY® technology has been intensively further developed and improved by Fraunhofer IKTS over the past ten years. Batteries of the type "CERENERGY®" have already been successfully tested in stationary battery modules.

The IKTS CERENERGY® batteries are in the last phase of industrial product development and are ready for commercialisation.