Source: Streetwise Reports 06/24/2024
Graphite One Inc. (OTC: GPHOF) announced that the U.S. Department of Defense has increased its share of expenditures in a cost-share agreement with the company.
The DoD increased its share from 50% to 75% of Graphite One's Defense Production Act grant to facilitate accelerated completion of the company's feasibility study (FS).
Based on a revised contract value of US$49.8 million, the DoD's maximum share of the accelerated FS program is now US$37.3 million.
"This development in our planned 100% U.S.-based graphite supply chain demonstrates the momentum Graphite One is building" said Graphite One Chief Executive Officer Anthony Huston. "For our shareholders, this means that for every dollar we spend advancing the Graphite Creek accelerated Feasibility Study, G1 receives 75% of those expenditures in DoD grant funding rather than 50% upon submission. We welcome the support of the Department of Defense as we continue our efforts to build a U.S. industrial capacity that serves the renewable energy transition, technology development, and national security."
Production of the element is needed for batteries in electric vehicles (EVs). Last fall, China imposed export controls on the substance. The battle recently escalated as U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order establishing a 25% tariff on Chinese imports, including natural graphite.
The U.S. is currently 100% import-dependent for natural graphite. Graphite One is working to develop a complete U.S.-based graphite supply chain solution anchored by its Graphite Creek deposit in Alaska and a proposed battery anode active material production plant in Ohio.
"The Graphite Creek deposit (is) recognized by the U.S. Geological Survey as the largest graphite deposit in the U.S." the company said in a release.
The Catalyst: An Essential National Defense Item
Graphite One said the objective of the DoD investment agreement is to perform the accelerated FS to "modernize and expand domestic production capacity and supply for graphite battery anodes necessary for electronic vehicles and alternative energy batteries as an essential national defense technology item."
The grant follows the designation of graphite as one of the battery materials deemed to be "essential to the national defense."
"This investment to increase domestic capabilities for graphite exemplifies Industrial Base Policy's commitment to building a resilient industrial base to meet current and future national defense requirements" said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Department of Defense Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Policy, when the grant was announced last summer. "The agreement with Graphite One (Alaska) is in furtherance of the Defense Department's strategy for minerals and materials related to large-capacity batteries."
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