Graphite is top priority for the USin critical battery...

Graphite is top priority for the US
in critical battery minerals

IG6 Chairman and Founder Phil Hearse shares his views on the outstanding opportunities for Australian graphite after returning from the 10th annual Select USA Summit - the US Government’s biggest investment showcase.

"Australian graphite is firmly in the crosshairs of the US critical minerals industry. Nothing was more apparent during our recent trip to Washington, as part of an Australian trade delegation organised by the US Department of Commerce International Trade Administration.

After multiple meetings and two major conferences - the Benchmark Minerals Intelligence GigaUSA 2024 and the US Government’s SelectUSA Investment Summit - graphite came up time and again as the commodity that is of most supply concern to policy makers.

Presentations given by leaders from the US Department of Energy, US Department of Commerce, and other prominent US economic development agencies emphasised graphite as the most sought-after commodity and one that is expected to be top priority by 2027 and beyond.

China currently processes 98% of graphite used worldwide in the electric vehicle industry. In 2027, graphite imported into the US from a Foreign Entity of Concern (FOEC), (China, Russia, Iran and North Korea), will be hit with a 25% tax. In addition, consumers who purchase an EV in the US that contains a battery, with more than 25% of its components supplied by an FOEC, will not be eligible for the US$7,500 tax credit. Chinese car imports are already subject to a 100% impost in the US.

The history-making US Inflation Reduction Act is designed to grow domestic manufacturing capability and reduce critical minerals' supply chain reliance on China, in particular. Access to graphite is critical to the success of the plan but the US has very few graphite resources of its own. The solution rests with the import of quality graphite from trusted allies like Australia.

In December, the US Congress designated Australia a domestic source under the US Defence Production Act, allowing the US to provide grants for Australian critical minerals producers. This opens the US doors for emerging suppliers like International Graphite, with our world class graphite resource at Springdale, and the intellectual property we are developing at our Collie processing facility, in Western Australia.

IG6 Managing Director Andrew Worland and I have been talking to government and commercial decision makers, and the strong bonds between Australia and US, from a cultural, trade and defence perspective, are highly valued and repeatedly emphasised.

Demand for natural graphite is expected to exceed supply through the mid to late 2020’s and be in major supply deficit into the 2030’s.

International Graphite’s timing for development of Springdale and Collie is just about perfect."

Phil Hearse

Caption: Chairman Phil Hearse, right, and Managing Director Andrew Worland in The White House after meeting with the US National Security Council.

Newsletter from the company this morning seems to indicate that IG6 may be in line for funding/assistance from the US government for the supply of graphite and/or related products, eg Battery Anode Materials.