Estimate the Cost of a Manufacturing Plant for NMCA Cathode Materials

Argonne National Laboratory has been working on the development of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) for several decades with noteworthy contributions in the advancement of the technology. Technoeconomic analysis is an integral part of the technology development to evaluate new technologies and potential for technology commercialization. The objective of this study is to estimate the cost of setting up a large scale, material for up to 250 MT of Lithium nickel manganese aluminum oxide (NMCA) materials per day, plant in the United States and to estimate the cost of the NMCA materials in this plant. The plant should be capable of producing powder that incorporate the state-of-the-art materials in anticipation of demand in 5–10-year period, such as high nickel content materials, core-shell structure, single crystal, etc. The design should be for a plant of very high efficiency to be built 5 years in the future. Therefore, the plant will be highly automated with high-speed production per units of plant area, capital equipment cost, and labor cost. It should be assumed that the appropriate R & D to establish the feasibility of the plant design have been successfully completed. Forward looking what-if scenarios, for material recycle and lower cost heat treatments should be considered. The study will include the capital investment needed and the cost of operating the plant. Some of the salient features of the study are as follows.
-The hypothetical plant would produce NMCA materials with the ability to change theNi:Mn:Co:Al ratios in different lines.

-The design and cost of the plant should be presented for 3 alternate production volumes of 100,175, and 250 MT/yr.

-The estimate shall include:oComposition of the NMCA material and its morphology (e.g., single crystal, core/shell,coating layers, etc.)
oQuantity and price of purchased materials (raw materials, supplies)
oFlow diagram showing material, energy flows for each type of equipment.
oOperating conditions (temperature, pressure, pH, residence time, environment1) of eachtype of equipment.
1 Furnaces may use oxygen-rich or inert-rich gas.

The operating condition profile / history for units with long residencetime (>1 hour) or changing conditions should be included

oPlant layout chartoCapital equipment for the plant with breakdown of equipment and installation (USA)
Rated capacity of each type of equipment and the number of units in the plant
Processing rates for batch and continuous reactors, furnaces, etc.
Rated energy use of each type of equipmentoBuilding construction cost for production area and infrastructure (maintenance,warehouse, shipping, utility, recycle facility, water processing)oBuilding operation cost for production area and infrastructure (maintenance, warehouse,shipping, utility, recycle facility, water processing)

oFootprint area of the production floor and infrastructure (maintenance, warehouse,shipping, utility, recycle facility, water processing)

oLabor required per year
oQuantity breakdown of annual electric, natural gas, cooling water, and process waterdemands of the plant
-The total anticipated investment cost-The estimated per-unit cost of the products produced andthe methodology used to develop this estimate
The final report will be due 4 months after contract signing.This statement of work does not include any work beyond the final report and cost estimate.
The final report shall include:
SEE PAGE 3 FOR Table 1 - Components for Estimation of Total

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Table 1. Components for Estimation of Total Capital Investment and Product Cost

I. Direct Costs = I-A + I-B + I-C + I-D
I-A. Equipment + installation + instrumentation + piping + electrical + insulation + painting 
Purchased Equipment
Installation, including insulation and painting Instrumentation and controls, installed Piping, 
installed
Electrical, installed
I-B. Buildings, process and auxiliary
I-C. Service facilities and yard improvements I-D. Land
II. Indirect Costs = II-A + II-B + II-C
II-A. Engineering and supervision
II-B. Construction expense and contractor's fee II-C. Contingency
III. Fixed Capital Investment = I + II
IV. Working Capital
V. Total Capital Investment = III + IV

VI. Manufacturing Cost, $/year = VI-A + VI-B + VI-C VI-A. Direct Product Costs
Raw Materials Operating labor
Direct supervisory and clerical labor Utilities
Maintenance and Repairs Operating supplies Laboratory charges Patents and royalties
VI-B. Fixed Charges
Depreciation Local taxes Insurance Rent
Financing (interest) VI-C. Plant Overhead Costs
VII. General Expenses, $/year = VII-A + VII-B + VII-C VII-A. Administrative costs
VII-B. Distribution and selling costs VII-C. R&D costs
VIII. Total Product Cost, $/year = Manufacturing Cost (VI) + General Expenses (VII)