The World of Graphite
For a long time, the unsung hero of battery components has been the anode, and specifically graphite. Cathode material has historically been the capacity limitor, and a lot of news focuses on supplies of metals like Nickel and Lithium rather than carbon products.
That changed in late 2023 when China restricted exports of graphite. Let’s dive in.
Black gold
Graphite is THE essential anode material in lithium-ion batteries that power EVs, used to store lithium ions in the battery’s charged state. Today, there is a shift happening, characterized by a slow but significant transition from natural to synthetic graphite.
Natural Graphite and China's Central Role
Traditionally, lithium-ion battery anodes have relied heavily on natural graphite. Predominantly mined in China, this form of graphite constitutes nearly a third of the battery's material composition by weight.
Depending on the pack size, each EV requires roughly 50-100 kg (110-220 pounds) of graphite for its anode. This places a spotlight on the geopolitical and supply chain vulnerabilities, especially given that today about 90% of this graphite comes from China.
The Rise of Synthetic Graphite
With the global risks involved with natural graphite, synthetic graphite is coming in hot. It’s made from essentially oil refinery waste - petroleum coke - and can be made into synthetic graphite with the right shaping process and heat treatment. Synthetic graphite could make up nearly two-thirds of the market by 2025.
This type of graphite, currently also predominantly produced in China, boasts higher purity levels than its natural cousin, leading to enhanced battery performance.
The Carbon Intensity Discussion
Synthetic graphite's production is also less environmentally detrimental when manufacturers, like Norwegian company Vianode, use renewable energy sources, reducing carbon footprints by up to 90% compared to traditional methods.
However, several pieces of recent literature have discussed the underestimation of the carbon footprint of graphite in commercial LCA databases. Recent LCAs for natural and synthetic graphite reported values of 9.6 and 20.6 kg CO2 eq kg−1, respectively, which are much higher than earlier-reported numbers.
The change in reported carbon footprint are shown in the below:
This variation underscores the importance of accurate grid mix definition in final impact assessments. Ultimately, the carbon intensity of graphite is truly dependent on location, e.g.:
Mongolia: The calculated Global Warming Potential values for producing 1 kilogram of anode grade graphite in coal-based grid mixes, like Inner Mongolia, are ~800% and ~1,000% higher than the commercial database value for natural and synthetic routes, respectively.
This location dependency for battery materials was modeled in a 2024 paper and the below graph shows the huge variation in CO2 emissions per kg of material for the different battery components. Graphite, in the middle, has a fairly large variability.
Geopolitical Tensions and Strategic Moves
The geopolitical landscape surrounding graphite has intensified recently.
June 2023 - the U.S. Department of Energy recognized graphite as one of the six most critical minerals, underscoring its strategic importance.
October 2023 - China implemented temporary export permits for graphite, leading to a dramatic 91% decrease in its overseas sales from December to January.
At the end of 2023 China restricted the exports of synthetic and natural graphite. This led to increased efforts in the U.S. and Europe to reduce dependency on Chinese imports.
Japan in December was reporting a 40% drop in imports of graphite from China.
November 2023 - the EU recognized the importance of reducing dependency on external sources, and added synthetic graphite to its list of critical materials under the new Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).
May 2024 - The US Trade Representative (USTR) on Section 301 tariffs announced the rate on natural graphite and permanent magnets will increase from zero to 25% in 2026.
September 2024 - DOE BIL funding awarded to graphite players including Novonix, SKI, Urbix, Anovion, and Ascend.
Innovations and Emerging Players
Several companies in the US and Europe are advancing domestic production of synthetic graphite urgently. This is to establish local manufacturing capacities and secure local supply chains. Several different approaches exist here:
NOVONIX, Anovion, and Vianode are focused on making synthetic graphite with renewable energy sources to reduce the carbon intensity of the product.
Molten Industries cracks methane at high temperatures into hydrogen and graphite using renewable electricity.
CarbonScape uses timber industry byproducts in a low temperature process to reduce energy and localise supply chains.
CarbonX focuses on using the carbon black process to make a low energy graphite-equivalent that can be produced on any scale around the world.
UP Catalyst, Homeostasis, and Maple Materials aims to make graphite and carbon products out of captured CO2 emissions.
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@carbonscape is very much an emerging player.
Why wouldn't you just grow hemp or take tires/plastic and convert into carbon via pyrolysis. Then process that carbon into graphite. Probably easier to mine it or convert via current petroleum supply chain