US graphite processing plant moves closer to federal funding

US start-up Urbix has been selected by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) for final negotiations for an award of up to $125mn towards the construction of a commercial-scale graphite processing facility.  The firm aims to produce coated spherical purified Graphite (CSPG), the predominant anode material used in lithium-ion batteries.

“This achievement is a testament to the critical role that our innovative and sustainable processing technology can play in the growth and strengthening of the U.S.’ domestic battery manufacturing capabilities, says Urbix CEO Nico Cuevas.

“We are committed to using this grant to accelerate the development of our facility, serving as a first step in providing a robust and secure end-to-end supply chain of premium graphite anode material that is vital to the industry’s ambitions.”

The project, to be based in Muscle Shoals, AL, includes the construction and operation of a single module capable of producing approximately 10,000t/yr of CSPG, but with capacity to expand to additional modules in the future. Longer-term, the firm is looking at more plants elsewhere in the US.

China-free

China is currently responsible for nearly all CSPG supply globally, as well as producing over 90pc of the world’s anodes for lithium batteries, Urbix says. As such, its project “directly aligns with the goals of MESC’s Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing grant programme to grow a more sustainable, resilient and equitable economy by investing in the domestic battery supply chain”.

In October last year, Urbix signed a joint development agreement b(JDA) with Appian Capital Advisory, a private investor in metals and mining, to help fund development of the commercial-scale downstream graphite processing facility. As part of the JDA, Urbix’s planned facility will receive a natural graphite concentrate feed from Graphcoa, a Brazilian graphite producer owned by Appian. This will strategically establish a fully integrated and non-Chinese graphite anode supply chain in the Americas.

There are several other projects moving forward to try to establish alternatives to Chinese graphite, with the trend given more urgency by Beijing putting what were seen as politically-motivated additional curbs on the material's export last year.

These include deals by East Asian battery heavyweights Panasonic and SK On to secure US graphite supply, as well as initiatives on anode production from firms such as India's Epsilon and a partnership between One D Battery Sciences and engineering firm Koch Modular.