Insufficient investment in anode supply chains in the West has become one of the key challenges to the implementation of US localization policies for electric vehicle (EV) and battery ecosystems

The key discussion topics across the battery raw materials sector ahead of Fastmarkets’ Asian Battery Raw Materials conference taking place in Seoul on April 22-23

The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) and supply chain localization were hot topics of discussion for presenters at the Alkeemia Battery Forum, which runs April 10-12 in Venice, Italy

Oversupply and increased competition from lower-priced synthetic graphite are likely to continue to put downward pressure on natural flake graphite prices over the next few years, sources in Shanghai told Fastmarkets.

China’s graphite exports continued to fall in the first two months of 2024 after the implementation of the export controls on certain graphite-related products on December 1, 2023

Silicon-enhanced anode materials using silane gas could hold the key to price competitiveness for non-Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), according to the chief executive officer of a US-based silicon-boosted anode developer

Graphite companies Nouveau Monde Graphite, Novonix and Westwater have all announced offtake agreements in a developing US anode supply chain to comply with that country’s generous subsidy scheme under the Inflation Reduction Act and to ease the current dependence on China for material, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday February 15

Supply chain localization of the graphite industry is a trend that is expected to continue in 2024 amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and excess capacity in Mainland China, the major holder of the global anode supply. Challenges remain, however, sources told Fastmarkets

Chinese exports of flake and spherical graphite plummeted in December, after China’s introduction of export controls on certain graphite related products

China has approved the export of graphite anode raw materials to South Korean battery material makers after it started regulations on the exports of certain graphite products on December 1, but concerns over exports remain