(Reuters) - Australian battery maker Novonix ( NVX ) said on Monday it had signed a binding off-take agreement with automaker Stellantis ( STLA ) to supply high-performance synthetic graphite material to its cell manufacturing partners in North America.

As part of the agreement, the Brisbane-headquartered firm will supply a minimum of 86,250 metric tons, up to a target volume of 115,000 metric tons of synthetic graphite from its Riverside facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Stellantis' ( STLA ) cell manufacturing partners in North America from 2026 until 2031.

"This contract allocates the remainder of our available volumes at our Riverside facility and a portion of volumes to be produced at our planned greenfield facility," Novonix ( NVX ) CEO Chris Burns said.

The Australian firm also said that it was making progress on building a new production facility in the southeastern United States which will boast an initial capacity of 30,000 metric tons per annum (tpa) and plans to expand that facility to 75,000 tpa.