General Motors Corp. has secured a multi-year supply of critical materials for EV battery manufacturing thanks to a multi-billion-dollar agreement with a Norwegian business preparing to start North American production. Vianode will supply synthetic anode graphite to GM’s Ultium Cells LLC joint venture from a large-scale plant it plans to build and start by 2027.
The actual value of the supply agreement was not announced.
Anode graphite is the largest constituent (by weight) of lithium-ion batteries, which will be manufactured by Ultium Cells, a partnership of GM with LG Energy Solution.
Vianode produces synthetic anode graphite using a high-temperature process that it claims has “a 90% lower CO2 footprint” than conventional methods that produce the material using natural graphite mined from carbon-rich rock.
Vianode did not indicate where in the U.S. or Canada the new plant will be built, suggesting that negotiations on the project are underway. The plans call for it to produce around 80,000 metric tons/year of synthetic graphite, enough to supply around 1.5 million EVs. A comparable, production-scale operation was started by Vianode last year in Herøya, Norway. CEO Burkhard Straube confirmed the company will seek to supply other EV battery manufacturers, too. Its goal is to supply advanced materials for 3 million EVs per year by 2030.
“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,” stated Jeff Morrison, senior vice president of Global Purchasing and Supply Chain at General Motors. “This project will help advance our battery technology and drive greater value to our customers.”
