Graphite miner Magnis Resources has won a vote of confidence in its gigafactory plans after German tech giant Siemens agreed to supply software and automation technology to a joint venture project in New York.

The shares (ASX:MNS) rose 5 per cent to 41.5c in early Monday trade.

A gigafactory is a concept for huge plants that can produce lithium-ion batteries by the gigawatt-hour (GWh). A GWh is equivalent to one billion watts for one hour.

Electric car maker Tesla is building the first gigafactory in Nevada, to produce 35 gigawatt-hours of batteries per year needed to power the 500,000 electric cars it plans to build.

Magnis (ASX:MNS) is involved in a consortium, Imperium3 NY, that is building a 15 GWh gigafactory in Upper State New York. Magnis owns 41 per cent of Imperium3.

Siemens has agreed to help develop software and automation technology in the plant.

The new agreement meant Siemens would “play a major role in the factory digitisation, automation and in-line manufacturing technology for the next generation of lithium-ion battery plants”, Magnis told investors on Monday morning.

Siemens believes the New York plant “is one of the most advanced upcoming battery projects worldwide”, the tech giant’s “Digital Factory Division” boss, Raj Batra, said.

Magnis’s key graphite mining project is the Nachu Graphite Project in south east Tanzania, about 220 km from the sea port of Mtwara.

Graphite is a key component of lithium-ion battery production, along with cobalt and lithium.

Graphite is used in the anode of the battery and it is where oxidation takes place in the battery where electrons are freed and flow out of the battery.

In Australia, Magnis is also pursuing plans for a 15GWh gigafactory in Townsville, Queensland, which could be in production by 2020.