Ann: 100hrs of Hot Operation Achieved at the CDP, page-256

on the shortage of graphite: (Source: https://www.mining.com/graphites-war-fighting-capabilities/)

Deficits are expected to kick in by 2025 as new graphite mines fail to keep up with surging demand from automakers.

Some of the world’s largest auto and battery makers aren’t waiting until that happens. They, and the US government, are racing to secure graphite supplies ahead of a coming supply shortage.

Tesla and Panasonic are among the companies that have signed graphite off-take agreements. Syrah Resources, for example, has an off-take with Tesla to ship graphite from its mine in Mozambique to a processing facility in Louisiana.

According to the USGS, the battery end-use market for graphite has already leaped by 250% since 2018. It’s thought that battery demand could gobble up well over 1.6 million tonnes of natural flake graphite per year.

For context, 2023 mine supply was 1.6 million tonnes, which means we’re very close to entering, if not already, a period of deficits. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence projects natural graphite will have the largest supply shortfalls of all battery materials by 2030, with demand outstripping expected supplies by about 1.2 million tonnes.

According to a BMI analysis, graphite demand is likely to grow by a factor of eight by 2030 over 2020, and 25 times by 2040. That translates into a predicted supply shortfall of 30% for graphite, compared to 11% for lithium, 26% for nickel, and 6% for cobalt.