Australians invest in Mozambique graphite to meet EV demand

Graphite is a vital ingredient of the batteries used in electric vehicles and the Mozambique graphite industry is the world’s third largest after the runaway market leader China (60%) and with the East African’s closest rival Brazil. So, with the market for EVs forecast to grow at a CAGR of almost 23% over the next seven years and to reach a total value of $802.8 billion by 2027, it was only a matter of time before someone worked out how to (literally) mine its potential to challenge China’s dominant market position.

Just weeks after French oil major Total confirmed that it had secured $15bn in financing to develop one of Mozambique’s massive offshore LNG fields, Australia’s Syrah Resources announced that it had fired up a processing facility in the US state of Louisiana dedicated to turning Mozambique graphite into one of the key ingredient suppliers for EV battery anodes. Fired by an ambition to become the first vertically integrated producer of anode material outside China, Syrah’s US operations will target American and European manufacturers who are likely to come under increasing pressure from Washington and allied governments around the world to find an alternative source of the material.
Several other Australian companies are also investing in African graphite including EcoGraf, which is set to open a facility in Western Australia to process graphite mined in Tanzania. The plant is expected to be operational by 2022 at the earliest and EcoGraf has a signed non-binding memorandum of understanding with the German technology group Thyssenkrupp to supply it with battery anode material. Production costs will be “below the existing supply from China while providing a diversified supply and low sovereign risk”, according to MD Andrew Spinks.

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Australians invest in Mozambique graphite to meet EV demand

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