Dive Brief:
- Battery materials maker Vianode will supply General Motors Co. with synthetic anode materials for electric vehicle batteries, the Norway-based company announced last week.
- The long-term supply deal, which has a “multi-billion dollar value,” aims to help GM strengthen its North American battery and EV supply chain.
- The synthetic graphite will be shipped from a large-scale plant that Vianode is building in North America. It will be supplied to Ultium Cells, GM’s joint venture with LG Energy Solution, and be used to produce next-generation EV batteries and drive units. Production at the new facility is slated to start in 2027.
Dive Insight:
GM’s agreement with Vianode covers the development of large-scale manufacturing and supply of synthetic anode graphite through 2033. The company aims to supply enough anode materials to support the production of 3 million EVs per year by 2030, the release says. As part of the agreement, Vianode may also supply graphite to other joint ventures.
Vianode has produced synthetic graphite at its industrial pilot plant in Norway since 2021. The company’s supply deal with GM follows a multi-year qualification process, which demonstrated that the synthetic anode graphite produced at the pilot plant meets rigorous performance and validation requirements, according to the release.
The company’s first full-scale production operations began in the second half of 2024. Vianode is preparing to start large-scale anode graphite production in North America as part of a multi-billion-dollar investment to expand operations, but has yet to disclose the location of the new facility.
“This agreement with Vianode for the development of artificial graphite is another great example of GM’s strategic effort to build a sustainable battery supply chain in North America,” said Jeff Morrison, GM’s SVP of global purchasing and supply chain, in the release.
Anode graphite material accounts for the largest component of a lithium-ion battery by weight, according to Vianode. But open pit mining for natural graphite can come with significant environmental consequences. According to a 2022 report from S&P Global, graphite sourced from conventional mining is typically purified using hydrofluoric acid and sodium hydroxide, a process that can be hazardous to surrounding ecosystems.
Vianode claims its synthetic anode graphite manufacturing process has a 90% lower CO2 footprint than conventional production methods. It’s manufactured in high-temperature processes that differ from the natural graphite sourced from traditional mining, according to the release.
The synthetic graphite produced in North America will help GM meet raw material sourcing requirements for EV batteries as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, and lessen its reliance on suppliers in China.
China currently dominates graphite production and exports, accounting for 62% of the global supply, according to an April 2024 report from the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis.
“Our recent creation of Vianode North America and this agreement to supply GM's North American EV business, are key building blocks for a local, resilient supply chain for critical battery materials outside of Asia,” Burkhard Straube, CEO of Vianode, said in the release. “We are proud of and honored that GM has chosen us as a strategic partner.”
Other automakers are also planning to use synthetic graphite for EV batteries. In November, Volkswagen subsidiary PowerCo SE announced a supply deal for synthetic graphite with Australia-based Novonix. As part of the five-year agreement, Novonix will supply PowerCo with at least 32,000 tonnes of synthetic graphite material for EV battery production starting in 2027.
