Bloomberg "Tesla Signs First U.S. Supply Contract for Electric Vehicle Battery Material Graphite"

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] According to Bloomberg News on the 23rd, American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has signed its first contract to source graphite, a key battery material that had been reliant on China, from within the United States.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the report, Australian mining company Syrah Resources has agreed to supply battery anode-grade graphite produced at its plant in Vidalia, Louisiana, to Tesla. The company will process Mozambique-sourced graphite at the Louisiana plant to produce anode-grade graphite.

Most of the world's battery anode-grade graphite is produced in China, and Tesla has also depended on Chinese graphite. However, with the recent rapid growth of the electric vehicle market causing a surge in demand for battery raw materials such as graphite, lithium, nickel, and cobalt, and supply disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage of graphite supply centered on China has become severe.

In this regard, earlier this month, Tesla and SK Innovation [096770] requested the U.S. government to exempt tariffs on Chinese graphite used for batteries to secure graphite supply.

Tesla stated that currently there are no companies in the United States capable of producing synthetic graphite with the specifications and capacity required for electric vehicles, and supports the application of the 'targeted tariff exclusion process' for Chinese graphite.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.