The focus is shifting to a new front: Synthetic graphite, an element developed in the late 19th century, but only redirected toward EVs in the past decade. Synthetic graphite could account for nearly two-thirds of the EV battery anode market by 2025, estimates Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. "It’s easier to set up a synthetic graphite production facility than it is to commission new mining sites for natural graphite” because producers can take advantage of incentives in last year's U.S. Inflation Reduction Act to build synthetic graphite capacity in the U.S. or Free Trade Agreement partners, she said. Other experts note synthetic graphite is generally higher purity and offers better and more predictable performance than natural graphite. Still, the construction of new production facilities for synthetic graphite, even with federal incentives, requires a staggering investment, said Novonix's Burns.

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Persons: Simon Dawson, ”, Victoria Hugill, It's, Chris Burns, Norway's, Vianode, Hans Erik Vatne, Vatne, Bob Galyen, China’s CATL, Novonix's Burns, “, Fastmarkets, Burns, Paul Lienert, Nick Carey, Timothy Gardner Organizations: REUTERS, Mineral Intelligence, EV, U.S, Trade, Infrastructure Investment, Jobs Act, Norsk Hydro, Hydro, Galyen Energy, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, United States, Europe, China, U.S, Bainbridge , Georgia, Chattanooga , Tennessee, North America, Detroit