Dive Brief:
- Two of North America’s major graphite producers will work together to establish a large-scale graphite processing site in Quebec, Canada, according to a Jan. 12 press release.
- Northern Graphite Corporation and Graphex Technologies will work closely with the Canadian government to find and evaluate sites that could accommodate facilities producing 200,000 tons of annual battery anode material.
- The site selection builds on the joint venture the two companies signed in December, as they seek to grow the continent’s graphite processing capacity.
Dive Insight:
Graphite, a critical component used the making of lithium-ion batteries, is currently only mined and processed in a handful of North American sites.
The companies’ project comes as industry observers become increasingly anxious that global graphite demand is soon to outstrip supply.
Graphex and Northern Graphite’s say their collaboration will help to tackle this issue.
“Given the need for large volumes of anode material and the emphasis placed on creating domestic North American supply chains, the Graphex-Northern-Baie-Comeau collaboration represents a significant advancement toward making a domestic supply chain for graphite anode material a reality sooner rather than later," Graphex CEO John DeMaio said in a statement.
Canada-based Northern Graphite owns the only graphite mine in North America, which produces 15,000 tons of the mineral a year, according to the recent announcement. The company also operates processing sites in Ontario and Nimibia.
Graphex Technologies produces graphite and graphene for use in lithium-ion EV batteries. The company has been working to establish coated spherical graphite plants in North America and Europe through joint ventures or technology transfers, according to the Jan. 12 press release. It’s also planning to double its annual production capacity from 10,000 tons per year up to 20,000.
Last year, Graphex finalized a joint venture with Michigan-based Emerald Energy Solutions to build and operate a $75 million graphite processing facility in Warren, Michigan.
