Metals Industry Trends

For those of us closely following the critical minerals ecosystem, the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025 distils the key trends that we have witnessed firsthand: growing concentration in supply chains is now a grave concern, making diversification the watchword for energy security.   Despite the surge of lithium demand to nearly 30% in 2024, the findings reflect a price drop by 80% since 2023, driven largely by increased output from dominant producers. Such price volatility masks a deeper vulnerability by 2035, excluding the top producers, global supply would meet only half the projected demand. Any disruption, be it geopolitical, climatic, or technical can trigger severe supply shocks.   This holds particularly true for graphite, the unsung backbone of the EV battery revolution. While its demand grew by 6–8% last year, with the energy sector now accounting for the lion’s share, over 70% of graphite refining remains concentrated in China. This has raised serious concerns about downstream capacity built-up and its role.   Long recognizing these structural risks, Epsilon Advanced Materials Pvt. Ltd. has focused on building integrated facilities across India, North America, and Europe to cater to the entire value chain. This strategy has enhanced our control over supply and quality, while also reduces exposure to global chokepoints.   I believe that building a resilient and diversified supply chain is not only feasible, but imperative. When we step back and see the forest for the trees, it becomes clear: true energy transition rests on secure access to materials like graphite and a long-term vision can help us achieve this, at scale.   Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/dT5mbhT6   #CriticalMinerals #Graphite #BatteryMaterials #EnergySecurity #SupplyChain #Epsilon #EVTransition #Clean #Energy

For over a decade, the West told itself a battery story largely about cathodes, and, while we argued over nickel content and LFP versus NMC, we handed China almost the entire anode without a fight. It is a strange thing to outsource: the anode is the half of the cell that most governs how safely and stably a battery behaves, as well as fast-charging capabilities and cold-weather performance. Building a good anode takes specialized processes, hard-won IP, and years-long qualification cycles, so the commercial logic stayed simple / entirely unit-economics driven: the Chinese already know how to do this, supply is available, prices are low, why would we allocate capital to ex-China anode at all? (To be fair, we never built commanding cathode capacity either.) Then you look up and FY24 NDAA Section 154 says that from October 1, 2027, the United States Department of War cannot buy batteries produced by CATL, BYD, Envision, EVE, Gotion, or Hithium (more or less the low-cost cells we leaned on). China mines ~80% of flake graphite, but (much as with the other critical mineral midstream stories) controls as much as 98% of spheronization and coating steps. Where I land, as someone who likes making money in general and specifically in these markets: private capital alone will not fix, particularly not on this in time. The same economics that let China dominate the market without the west batting an eye reinforce a fund's inability to underwrite a high capex build out, a lengthy qualification, and unproven technologies at scale against a rival that can halve commodity price the day you commission. The ITC declined to impose duties, tariff protection is thin, and the alternatives (silicon and hard-carbon anodes) are promising but early. What does this mean? The government has to de-risk the graphite business model: flake mining, synthetic manufacturing, all the way through midstream to AAM. This happens through guaranteed offtake, price floors, and direct equity investments. These tools would allow private capital crowd in and build a supply chain. I see this as one of the most acute needs in the critical minerals space. #CriticalMinerals #BatteryTechnology #SupplyChain #EnergySecurity #Graphite

Confronting China’s grip on graphite for batteries China controls more than 95% of the global supply of battery-grade graphite, which is the largest component by weight in lithium-ion batteries. This creates a significant vulnerability for U.S. economic and national security, as graphite is essential for electric vehicle batteries, consumer electronics, defense applications like drones, grid-scale energy storage systems, and steel-making. Stanford Energy's STEER initiative has been working with over 150 industry experts to develop potential solutions through two major convening in Washington DC (September 2024 and May 2025), in work led by Karan Bhuwalka, Adrian Yao, Sally Benson and colleagues. Key insight from Stanford's quantitative techno-economic analysis: ✅ High estimated U.S. costs, more than twice that of China, stem from elevated capital expenditures and lack of secondary markets for manufacturing byproducts that help Chinese producers offset expenses Potential answers: ✅ Execute offtake contracts with price floors to reduce investor risk ✅ Leverage abundant carbon feedstocks in the United States (such as natural gas and biomass) to produce high-quality graphite ✅ Shorten the timeline necessary to qualify graphite produced in new factories ✅ Develop coherent testing standards and performance characteristics that can confidently map graphite's physical properties to long-term battery performance See article in Comments

𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟬𝟭🔋: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲? 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄. You probably remember graphite from school. Goes in your pencil. Layered structure, brittle. Layers slide. You may have heard of graphene also, discovered when sticky tape pulled these individual layers off. Turns out this layered structure is naturally engineered for use in a battery: ➡ The layers in graphite can hold Li+ ions. ➡ Graphite anode paired to cathode (eg LFP, NMC) ➡ Applied voltage moves Li+: cathode to anode ➡ Layers swell ~10% as accommodate. ➡ Process is reversible on charge/discharge ➡ Stored Li+ and electronic charge = battery What types of graphite are used in batteries? There are two main kinds: 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 ➡ Mined from deposits in the ground. ➡ Purified in flake form ➡  ‘Folded’ into spheres to maximise capacity. ➡ Process can lose up to 50 % material as fines. 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 ➡ Formed from precursor eg needle coke ➡ Series of steps to size and purify. ➡ Treated at 3000 C to graphitise (Acheson) ➡ Energy intensive process Often a mixture of these is used for optimal packing. A typical EV battery can have up to 70 kg of graphite in the anode. In future this may decrease as % incorporation of silicon increases for higher capacity, depending on the chemistry selection. Currently, the graphite supply chain is dominated by China. According to the IEA, China currently: ➡ Mines 80% of flake graphite ➡ Processes 99 % spherical graphite The two biggest companies in terms of supply of graphite are BTR New Material Group Co., Ltd. and Ningbo Shanshan Co., Ltd.. With growing geopolitical tension there is a need for localised graphite supply chains, and effective recovery of graphite from end of life batteries. Collaboration is key to ensure that low carbon routes to produce carbon are successful. Some of the western companies working to develop graphite solutions include: Northern Graphite Nouveau Monde Graphite | NYSE: NMG Syrah Resources Ltd Talga Group Tirupati Graphite Plc NOVONIX Vianode James Durrans & Sons Limited What developments in graphite interest you the most? If you are working on graphite or batteries in general and interested to chat more, please connect with me - would be great to hear from you! Image credits: S.J. An et al. / Carbon 105 (2016) 52-76 SEM: CPI benchmarking #Batteries #Graphite #BatteryTech ---------------------------------- P.S. Like this post and want to see more? Click the bell in the top right of my profile to see my posts in your feed! 🔔

Graphite is Quiet No More. A silent war is unfolding not with weapons, but with materials. Just this week: 🇺🇸 The U.S. raised tariffs on Chinese graphite up to 721%, marking a decisive move to de-risk supply chains. 🇨🇦 Focus Graphite nears production after 16 years, offering battery-grade supply for aerospace markets. 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan joined the European Carbon and Graphite Association, bringing Central Asia closer to the EU’s industrial future. 🇹🇿 Magnis Energy doubles down on Tanzania, despite political and financial turbulence. 🇺🇸 Graphite One eyes 50,000 t/y production by 2028 a U.S.-based supply chain is no longer a dream. 🇲🇬 NextSource Materials pivots to the Middle East, seeking scale, proximity, and sovereign backing. 🇨🇦 Northern Graphite’s projects in France and Namibia gain “Strategic Project” status from the EU. Every headline tells the same story: Graphite is no longer just an industrial material. It’s a geopolitical lever, a national security asset, and a strategic entry point into the future of energy. We’re witnessing a shift: From extraction → to control From trade → to policy From tons → to trust The world isn’t asking if graphite is important anymore. The question now is: Who controls it? Because whoever does holds the key to EVs, AI, clean energy, and defense. #Graphite #CriticalMinerals #EnergySecurity #Geopolitics #EVrevolution #BatterySupplyChain #MiningMatters #TemuujinGankhuyag

For the foreseeable future, synthetic graphite anode material will likely maintain its dominant position in high-performance applications like electric vehicles due to its superior cycle life, while natural graphite anode material will continue to be valued for its higher capacity and lower cost in consumer electronics applications. Synthetic graphite anode material is produced from petroleum coke or needle coke through a more complex process involving crushing, granulation, carbonisation, and graphitisation. The graphitisation process, conducted at extremely high temperatures (2,500-3,000°C), transforms amorphous carbon into a highly ordered crystalline structure. This energy-intensive process significantly impacts production costs but creates a material with superior electrochemical stability. High-end synthetic graphite anodes typically use needle coke as the raw material due to its "low sulfur content, low ash content, low metal content, and easy graphitisation," while lower-end products use cheaper petroleum coke. Synthetic graphite generally demonstrates better first cycle efficiency (90-96%) when compared to natural graphite (90-93%). This efficiency metric is crucial as it directly impacts the usable capacity of lithium-ion batteries. Additionally, synthetic graphite offers better compatibility with electrolytes and superior performance in high-rate applications. The particle size distribution and surface characteristics of synthetic graphite can be more precisely controlled during manufacturing, contributing to its more consistent electrochemical behaviour. Surface modification technologies are employed for both synthetic graphite and natural graphite anode materials to improve performance. These include mechanical ball milling, surface oxidation, halogenation treatment, surface coating, and element doping. Such modifications enhance the efficiency of lithium-ion storage and release while improving cycle stability by changing the surface structure, morphology, and chemical properties of the graphite anode materials. It should be noted, the industry is also exploring silicon-carbon composite anodes to significantly increase battery capacity, with several incumbent anode manufacturers scaling up production of these next-generation materials. #graphite #lithiumbatteries #lithium #nickel #cobalt #manganese

China Just Cut Off 90% of This EV Material — What Happens Now? In December 2024, China implemented new export controls on graphite, citing national security concerns. For those who missed it, this isn’t just another trade spat — it’s a direct hit on one of the most critical materials in the clean energy transition. Why does it matter? Because graphite is essential to every lithium-ion battery. EVs, grid-scale storage, defense systems, smartphones — they all rely on it. And China refines over 90% of the world’s graphite supply. Now, with outbound shipments to the U.S. facing stricter review, the future of America’s battery supply chain hangs in the balance. The U.S. is responding — but it’s a race against time. In June 2021, Westwater Resources announced a $202 million graphite processing facility in Kellyton, Alabama — the first of its kind in the U.S. Once fully operational, it’s expected to produce 7,500 metric tons annually of battery-grade graphite. Meanwhile, in Michigan, Graphex Technologies is establishing a new plant in Warren that will produce 15,000 metric tons annually — a lifeline for Detroit’s booming EV manufacturing sector. This isn’t just about battery tech. It’s about energy independence, industrial security, and the millions of American jobs tied to advanced manufacturing. The question we must ask: If we don’t control the materials that power the future, can we truly lead it? – Clayton Turner

Tanzania’s richest man, Mohammed Dewji, is making a $275 million bet on battery minerals as the global race for electric vehicles accelerates. Through his conglomerate MeTL Group, Dewji plans to develop graphite mining projects in Tanzania with commercial production expected to start within the next 18 months. He said the company is already working with European partners to meet battery-grade specifications, while teams are in China sourcing processing technology. The move is part of a bigger plan to more than triple MeTL’s annual revenue to $10 billion by 2035, and it positions the group to supply a mineral that is critical for EV battery anodes at a time when buyers are urgently looking for sources outside China. The timing reflects a clear market gap. Analysts expect the graphite market to fall into deficit in the early 2030s as EV and energy storage demand grows, and most supply today is still synthetic or controlled by Chinese processors. Tanzania holds about 6 percent of global graphite reserves and the government is pushing local value addition, which gives Dewji room to build processing capacity rather than just export raw ore. Alongside mining, Dewji is also expanding into farming and luxury tourism, spreading MeTL’s bets across fast-growing sectors. If successful, the $275 million investment would be one of the largest commitments by an African-owned company in critical minerals, and could provide a template for how African conglomerates move from extraction to industrial processing in the energy transition.