Per WSJ, CarbonScape (CS), a New Zealand company, is hoping to cut China’s hold on the graphite market, used to make electric vehicle (EV) batteries. At a NZ test plant, they feed wood chips into machines that turn out synthetic graphite. They claim the engineered material is as pure as graphite made from fossil fuels, which can account for half the weight of a lithium-ion battery.
China announced in October that it would cut graphite exports. The country produces ~60% of the world’s natural graphite, which is mined, and 69% of synthetic graphite. It also refines most graphite used in lithium-ion batteries.
The IEA estimates graphite demand could rise 25x from 2020-2040, leading to innovation. Some companies, like Toyota and oil company Idemitsu Kosan, plan to partner to mass produce solid state batteries for EV’s in which graphite could be replaced with lithium metal. CS’s goal is to produce graphite in a new way that could decarbonize the battery industry, also localize supply chains. They claim they can make one metric ton of synthetic graphite from seven tons of dry wood chips, also say the cost is competitive with making synthetic graphite from fossil fuels since temperatures needed to make graphite from wood chips are lower and the process takes hours not weeks.
CS takes leftovers from timber making, but could also use slash, the unwanted wood left in forests after logging. The wood chips are heated in a process known as pyrolysis to create biochar, a carbon-rich material that is then milled and converted to a raw form of graphite. It is then purified/coated to get the quality needed for battery anodes.
To succeed, CS needs to overcome skepticism about its technology/cost. Some are concerned about the amount of wood chips that would be needed. Others prefer natural graphite or suggest recycling graphite from used batteries could be another source of supply. The biggest benefit of CS graphite could be the cut in carbon footprint. Graphite made from fossil fuels is cooked at 3000 degrees Celsius during processing and creates greenhouse gases/fine particles. CS’s process as a whole is close to carbon neutral. The use of logging waste could also help maintain forests, a priority due to more intense wildfires driven by climate change.
CS aims to select a site for its first commercial scale plant soon. It is looking in Europe, also the SE U.S. where there are large timberlands/attractive electricity prices. The plant would produce 10,000 tons of synthetic graphite annually versus the 5-ton pilot operation.
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Read More: https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/china-ev-materials-scaring-us-77c7f710