Funding for NY li-ion battery Factory, page-59

I agree, security of supply of raw materials is very important, if you own a battery anode processing plant but you are at the mercy of fluctuating quality/price of chinese raw graphite miners, it would be extremely difficult to make a solid sustainable business plan. IMO vertical integration is much more important for graphite than for lithium or cobalt or nickel. All lithium is equal (its a chemical element), not all graphite is equal (its a mineral that comes out of the ground in varying sizes, purities, shapes and therefore varying qualities).