Graphite One delivers synthetic graphite material to its path to anode material production
by CM staff
Three of the active anode material samples delivered are each designed to meet different lithium-ion battery requirements: high energy capacity above 360 mAh/g; fast charging above 4C; and cycle life above 6,000 cycles, respectively.
VANCOUVER — Graphite One Inc., announced the delivery of synthetic graphite anode material samples for analysis by U.S.-based global end-users. Three of the active anode material samples delivered are each designed to meet different lithium-ion battery requirements: high energy capacity above 360 mAh/g; fast charging above 4C; and cycle life above 6,000 cycles, respectively.
Graphite One’s updated plan is to first construct a synthetic anode material production facility to produce a range of synthetic anode materials. A natural graphite anode material production line would later be added, in time to receive natural graphite from Graphite Ones’s Graphite Creek deposit near Nome, Alaska once it is permitted and operating. Ultimately Graphite One intends to produce both synthetic and natural graphite anode materials for lithium-ion battery applications in North America.
The synthetic graphite samples were prepared for Graphite One by Sunrise (Guizhou) New Energy Material Co., Ltd. (Sunrise). The company and Sunrise are currently negotiating a technical license agreement (TLA) to share expertise and technology for the design, construction, and operation of Graphite One’s proposed U.S.-based graphite material manufacturing facility.
The TLA is intended to comply with the requirements of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) so that the use of the licensed technology itself to make Graphite One’s anode materials would not affect its customers’ eligibility to qualify for IRA tax credits. Sunrise had previously prepared natural graphite anode materials for Graphite One using Graphite Creek graphite concentrate.
“With the U.S. currently not producing any natural and synthetic anode materials, Graphite One has formulated a fast-track path-to-production strategy jump-starting our battery anode material production,” said Anthony Huston, Graphite One’s President and CEO. “In contrast to the typical resource development track, our strategic plan is to make Graphite One a synthetic anode material producer while Graphite Creek moves through permitting and into production. Ultimately, Graphite Creek’s natural graphite would supply our anode material facility alongside our synthetic production, to deliver a full range of natural and synthetic anode materials to EV customers, 100% manufactured in the United States.”
The delivery of synthetic graphite anode material follows the completion of Graphite One’s 2023 drilling program, conducted with the support of a US$37.5 million Department of Defense Technology Investment Agreement grant under Title III of the U.S. Defense Production Act (DPA), which is funded through the Inflation Reduction Act.
The grant reimburses Graphite One on a dollar-for-dollar basis for qualified expenditures up to US$37.5 million. As a result of the DPA grant and a strategic investment from Bering Straits Native Corporation, Graphite One completed a total of 28,669 ft of drilling—four times the drilling conducted in 2022—with 52 out of 52 resource holes intersecting visual graphite mineralization.
