28 September 2023 — Graphite is the perfect anode material because it is extremely heat resistant and conducts electricity very well.
In this article, James Cross, President and CEO of E-Power Resources, discusses why and how battery manufacturers can protect their graphite supply chain by acquiring graphite resources in the ground.
Graphite is the largest material component of EV batteries by weight but is often overlooked when talking about the EV battery supply chain. (…) In Europe, the production situation for natural graphite is uncertain. Russia produces about 1.5% of global supply and, at present, that supply source is politically unavailable to many countries. Ukraine, before the war, also produced about 1.5% of global production, while that now appears to be offline. Norway produces about 0.5%. Germany and Austria together produce less than 300 tonnes.
The business of battery manufacturers depends on access to graphite. They have made huge investments to get into this business. They must backwardly integrate, by securing resources in the ground, in order to ensure their graphite supply chain and get a return on the capital already allocated. The cost of this ‘insurance’ is generally a small fraction of what they have already invested.
Read the entire article here.
