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US automakers are beginning to scale back their EV manufacturing plans following the untimely demise of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, so now is probably not the best time to beef up the domestic supply chain for EV batteries. Nevertheless, the leading Indian energy storage firm Epsilon Advanced Materials has locked in a supply of precursors to feed its forthcoming graphite anode factory in North Carolina. EAM anticipates that the new facility will pump out enough product to supply about 1 million made-in-the-USA EVs per year, once it achieves full production capacity. Are they nuts?
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US automakers are beginning to scale back their EV manufacturing plans following the untimely demise of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, so now is probably not the best time to beef up the domestic supply chain for EV batteries. Nevertheless, the leading Indian energy storage firm Epsilon Advanced Materials has locked in a supply of precursors to feed its forthcoming graphite anode factory in North Carolina. EAM anticipates that the new facility will pump out enough product to supply about 1 million made-in-the-USA EVs per year, once it achieves full production capacity. Are they nuts?
More Graphite For More EV Batteries … Nope, Epsilon Is Not Nuts
Taking a closer look at that production timeline, EAM is not nuts. They are simply planning ahead. In September, the company reported that the necessary permits are all lined up and the facility is on track to commence operations in 2027, with a 50% capacity target of 30,000 tons, or enough to supply 500,000 EVs.
That’s a little more consistent with the consensus on the near-term outlook for EV sales in the US. Sales spiked leading up to September 30 as buyers rushed to make last-minute deals before the tax credit expired, only to slump precipitously in October after the tax credit vanished. However, auto industry analysts do not generally anticipate that interest in EVs will evaporate entirely. State, dealer, and automaker incentives are still available to some EV bargain hunters, and the potential for savings on TCO (total cost of ownership, including fuel and maintenance) may help keep the EV market treading water for the time being.
In the meantime, the public EV charging network is continuing to grow, offering EV-curious car buyers more confidence in the availability of public and home charging stations. By the time EAM’s new anode factory hits its full production capacity of 60,000 in 2030, federal energy policy may also provide more support. After all, the current occupant of the White House is scheduled to leave office on January 20, 2029 — peacefully this time, one hopes.
A Lower Carbon Footprint For EV Batteries
EAM has also nailed down a precursor supply sufficient to reach the 30,000- and 60,000-ton goal posts. In September, the company entered into an Agreement in Principle with Phillips 66 to supply green and calcined needle coke from its refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Coke is a byproduct of oil refining and coal gasification. So, not particularly green. Nevertheless, it is an essential feature of the EV battery supply chain of today.
“Phillips 66 is among the world’s leading producers of specialty cokes, such as Green and Calcined Needle Coke, which are critical for manufacturing synthetic graphite anodes,” EAM explains, adding that the agreement “brings together Phillips 66’s operational expertise with EAM’s global expansion, reinforcing efforts to build a competitive and resilient supply chain for clean energy technologies across multiple regions.”
As for the decarbonized EV battery supply chain of tomorrow, that’s where things get interesting. Back in 2017, the US Department of Energy identified silicon as an alternative anode material. Aside from reducing the use of fossil-derived materials in the EV battery supply chain, silicon is less expensive than its graphite counterpart.
The Long Road To The Silicon Anode Of The Future
There being no such thing as a free lunch, in 2017 the Energy Department noted that EV battery cells based on silicon and other next generation materials “still suffer major cycle and calendar life issues.”
In particular, silicon anodes degrade over time, aside from degradation directly linked to charging cycles. By 2017, Energy Department researchers identified the nut of the problem, consisting of lithium lost due to reactivity with the electrolyte.
The next steps involved experimenting with salts and electrolyte solvents to stabilize the reaction. By 2021, the Energy Department was all in. The agency tapped its National Renewable Energy Laboratory to lead a new, pumped-up silicon EV battery R&D effort called the Silicon Consortium Project, to be focused like a thousand points of light on solving the calendar-life challenge. SCP combined the Energy Department’s ongoing Silicon Electrolyte Interface Stabilization project and the Silicon Deep Dive program into one multidisciplinary team drawn from the Argonne, Sandia, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, and Lawrence Berkeley national laboratories.
“Together, the national laboratories employ advanced characterization techniques coupled with state-of-the-art research facilities to explore the foundational science of organic electrolytes with silicon interfaces to develop the full electrode and cell chemistry,” NREL explained.
“Researchers aim to use these findings to take advantage of silicon’s ability to store more than 3,500 milliamp hours per gram, which could reduce battery pack size by 25%–30%, or increase driving range by 30%–40% with packs the same size as those found in current EVs,” the lab added.
More & Better Silicon EV Batteries
The Energy Department tasked SCP to produce silicon-based anodes with a calendar life of 10+ years, among other attributes leading to the more affordable EV battery of the future. Private sector innovators have not been asleep at the wheel, either. In 2o22, for example, General Motors announced a silicon EV battery deal with the US startup OneD Battery Sciences.
“Silicon can store ten times the energy of graphite alone,” OneD observed. “Being able to add larger amounts of silicon — efficiently — is the essential breakthrough needed to produce competitive EVs that meet market demand for high-performance, affordable vehicles.”
OneD’s “SINANODE” anode is based on graphite infused with silicon nanowires. At the time of the hookup, GM noted that OneD was continuing R&D work on its anode solution while scaling into pilot production. In the latest development, last week OneD announced a joint development agreement with the Chinese carbon materials specialist Shanghai Putailai New Energy Technology Co., aimed at scaling up production.
“Through this agreement, we will combine OneD’s SINANODE technology with Putailai’s world-class graphite manufacturing to deliver higher energy density cells at affordable cost,” emphasized OneD CEO Jeff Chamberlain in a press statement.
They better not let the grass grow under their feet. In September, the US materials startup Sila Nanomaterials announced the start of production at its silicon anode plant in Moses Lake, Washington. EV batteries are the target market along with consumer electronics, drones, satellites, and other applications.
As with EAM, Sila anticipates that EV sales in the US will recover from this year’s counterproductive federal policy. “Operations will initially support 2–5 GWh of capacity, with the capability to expand up to 250 GWh within five years and become the largest anode production facility in the world,” Sila states.
“By manufacturing domestically at unprecedented scale, Sila is replacing graphite, a critical mineral overwhelmingly sourced from China, with a higher-performing, American-made alternative at a time when U.S. manufacturers are acutely focused on cutting supply chain vulnerabilities,” the company also reminds everyone.
As for the carbon portion of silicon anodes, keep an eye on BMW. The automaker is among those pursuing an alternative, biobased supply chain for the graphite used in EV batteries.
Image (cropped): With a forthcoming factory in North Carolina, the leading Indian EV battery materials firm Epsilon Advanced Materials plans to meet the graphite anode demand of 1 million in made-in-the-US EVs per year by 2030 (courtesy of EAM via businesswire.com).
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