Graphite One secures Ohio site for Active Anode Materials facility – Richard Mills

2026.05.27

Graphite One (TSXV:GPH, OTCQX:GPHOF) has chosen a site in Ohio for its Active Anode Materials (AAM) facility — the second link in its US-based graphite materials supply chain strategy.

The first link is Graphite One’s Graphite Creek mine in Alaska, which completed a bankable feasibility study in Q2 2025, mostly funded by a $37.5 million grant from the Department of Defense.

The plan also includes a recycling facility to reclaim graphite and other battery materials, to be co-located at the Ohio site, which is the third link in Graphite One’s circular economy strategy.

Graphite One aims to become the first vertically integrated producer to serve the US electric vehicle battery market and energy storage system markets. Its supply chain strategy involves mining, manufacturing and recycling, all done domestically.

The company announced on May 19 that it has secured a site in Conneaut, Ashtabula County, Ohio, through a license of occupation agreement with Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company, a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway (CN).

The agreement means that Graphite One is dropping plans to build a graphite anode manufacturing plant in Warren, Trumbull Country, Ohio. It will terminate the current lease on the Warren site to focus efforts on the Conneaut location.

The new site provides several strategic advantages, including:

• Direct access to Lake Erie and the Great Lakes shipping corridor
• Multi-line rail connectivity through CN
• Existing power infrastructure, including an on-site substation
• Capacity for future expansion and scaling

“This site provides the infrastructure, logistics access, and scalability required to support long-term growth,” said COO Mike Schaffner. “It positions the Company to efficiently move material and expand production capacity as market demand develops.”

Defined path toward commercial production

Graphite One is advancing development plans for an Ohio finishing and blending facility, which is one of the three processing facilities that together comprise the AAM facility with the targeted milestones:

• Construction completion in Q4 2027
• Initial production capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year (Phase 1)

Phase 1 production is expected to include:

• 4,000 tonnes of energy storage material
• 3,000 tonnes of fast-charging material
• 3,000 tonnes of high-energy-density material

These materials are intended for use in lithium-ion battery applications supporting electric vehicles, grid-scale energy storage, and emerging data center infrastructure demand.

“We now have a defined path from site control through development to production and customer engagement,” said CEO Anthony Huston. “Our objective is to establish a vertically integrated, U.S.-based supply chain capable of supporting long-term North American battery demand.”

Phase 2 expansion planning underway

In parallel with Phase 1 production, the company is evaluating a second-phase expansion that would target:

• Construction completion in Q3 2028
• Graphitization capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year

The expansion would further position Graphite One as a potential domestic supplier of Active Anode Materials at a time when North American supply chains continue to seek localized sources of critical battery inputs.

Customer qualification and offtake discussions progressing

Graphite One has delivered commercial-grade anode material samples, including quantities of up to 20 kilograms, to:

• Three major electric vehicle manufacturers
• Three leading battery companies

All counterparties are currently conducting specification testing.

In parallel, the company has entered into discussions regarding potential binding offtake agreements with select participants involved in the sample evaluation process.

“We are encouraged by the level of engagement taking place with prospective customers,” added Huston. “The ongoing evaluation process and commercial discussions represent important steps toward establishing long-term customer relationships.”

Positioned within a strategic North American supply chain

Graphite One’s development strategy links its Graphite Creek resource in Alaska — identified by the US Geological Survey as the largest graphite deposit in the United States and among the largest globally — with downstream processing capabilities in Ohio.

The company believes this vertically integrated model aligns with growing North American efforts to localize critical mineral and battery material supply chains.

“As governments and industry continue prioritizing domestic supply chain development, we believe Graphite One is well positioned to participate in this structural market shift,” Huston said.

Construction and development activities for the Ohio facility remain subject to financing, permitting, power agreements, equipment procurement, regulatory approvals, and other customary development conditions.

Graphite One’s domestic supply chain strategy

The United States is currently 100% import-dependent for natural graphite. Graphite One is developing a fully integrated US-based supply chain anchored by the Graphite Creek deposit. The strategy includes:

• Mining at Graphite Creek
• Transportation via the Port of Nome
• Processing into advanced graphite and anode materials in Ohio
• Potential co-located recycling facility to recover graphite and other battery materials

This integrated approach positions Graphite One to become a cornerstone supplier in a domestic, circular battery materials economy.

In February Graphite One closed a public offering involving the sale of 20,002,000 units for aggregate gross proceeds of CAD$35 million.

The company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for AAM plant-related expenditures including design and engineering, permitting and equipment purchases.

Graphite one raising CAD$35M for Active Anode Materials Plant — Richard Mills

Active Anode Materials manufacturing

Graphite is available in two forms: natural graphite (NG) and artificial graphite (AG). Both must be further processed to convert each into AAM to effectively function in lithium-ion batteries. AAM is designed and manufactured to meet each customer’s specifications. The AAM design necessary to each specification requires selection from a range of primary component combinations of NG AAM and artificial graphite AAM, either separately or in blends, and sometimes with other materials such as silicon and silicon monoxide (SiO). The specifications can be categorized to attain fast charging, high energy density, or longer life cycles.

Graphite One plans to make both AG AAM and NG AAM for the electric vehicle and energy storage systems markets. The process for making each can be separated into three phases: preparation of the precursor materials; graphitization or purification of the precursor materials; and finishing/blending of the graphitized or purified material to produce the final AAM product. The precursor materials for AG AAM include petroleum cokes and pitches. For NG AAM, they are natural graphite concentrate and pitches.

G1’s manufacturing facility will initially produce synthetic AAM and in the future add natural graphite AAM as graphite becomes available from the company’s Graphite Creek deposit in Alaska.

Graphite One intends to produce synthetic graphite from scratch, then make bespoke anode materials for its customers. G1 is the first link of a homegrown synthetic and natural graphite supply chain for EV batteries.

Conclusion

Graphite has the largest component in batteries by weight, constituting 45% or more of the cell. Nearly four times more graphite is consumed in each battery cell than lithium and nine times more than cobalt.

Graphite is therefore indispensable to the EV supply chain.

Automakers and defense companies have been raising alarm bells over the fact that the United States hasn’t mined any graphite since the 1950s, and even if it had, it would need to be shipped to China for processing. G1 intends to play a large part in correcting this.

But mine production, despite being fast-tracked, is a few years away. Graphite One’s plan to build an AAM plant in Ohio is an important interim step before mining begins.

Phase 1 production targets 10,000 tonnes per year of battery-ready anode material. Phase 2 would ramp up to 25,000 tonnes.

Graphite One has delivered commercial-grade anode material samples to three major electric vehicle manufacturers and three leading battery companies. In parallel, the company has entered into discussions regarding potential binding offtake agreements.

Graphite One could become the first synthetic graphite producer in the United States, ending decades of import dependence. Graphite One would produce its own synthetic graphite, not buy it from overseas companies, before manufacturing it into Active Anode Materials for its customers.

The opportunity here is huge.

The global lithium-ion battery anode market is projected to grow from roughly USD$19 billion in 2025 to over $81 billion by 2030, driven by a 33.6% CAGR as demand for high-performance materials increases.

Graphite One Inc.
TSXV:GPH, OTCQX:GPHOF
2026.05.22 Share Price: Cdn$1.235
Shares Outstanding: 208.9m
Market Cap: Cdn$242.8m
GPH website

Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com

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Richard owns shares of Graphite One Inc. (TSXV:GPH).

GPH is a paid advertiser on his site aheadoftheherd.com

This article is issued on behalf of GPH