Novonix signs offtake deal with Stellantis for high-performance synthetic graphite
Battery materials and technology company Novonix (ASX: NVX) has signed a binding offtake agreement with automotive company Stellantis NV for up to 115,000 tonnes of high-performance synthetic graphite material from its Riverside production site in Tennessee.
The material will be supplied to Stellantis’ cell manufacturing partners in the region over a six-year term starting in 2026, allocating the remainder of available volumes from Riverside and a portion to be produced at a planned greenfield facility.
The supply agreement is subject to Novonix achieving critical milestones related to final mass production qualification and satisfying certain compliance criteria.
Growth plans
Novonix chief executive officer Dr Chris Burns expressed eagerness to support Stellantis’ North American growth plans.
“Offtake agreements with high-quality partners such as Stellantis solidify our position as a leader in onshoring the supply chain of synthetic graphite and accelerating the adoption of clean energy,” he said.
Stellantis plans to invest more than $80 billion in electrification over the next decade and is securing approximately 400 gigawatt-hours of battery capacity through agreements with battery manufacturing plants in North America and Europe.
Large-scale production
Riverside is poised to become North America’s first large-scale site dedicated to the production of high-performance synthetic graphite for the battery sector.
It is slated to begin commercial production in 2025, with Novonix planning to gradually increase its capacity to 20,000tpa to meet current customer commitments.
The company is also advancing plans to build a new production facility in the south-eastern US with an initial capacity of 30,000tpa and an ultimate target of 75,000tpa.
Hatch assessment
The Riverside facility was subject to an independent assessment in May by engineering company Hatch that considered various factors including the evaluation of operations, project execution and financial model assumptions, as well as the graphite market, production technology, environmental considerations, feedstock and supply agreements.
“The completion of this review represents a significant milestone that reinforces our progress and underscores our position as a pioneer in localising lower-emissions synthetic graphite supply in North America,” Dr Burns said at the time.
“It provides us with a high degree of confidence as we advance our overarching plans towards production and deliveries from Riverside.”
US funding
The Riverside facility is being funded by a $150 million grant from the US Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains.
The project has also received a $156m investment tax credit under the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit program to support the production of critical battery materials.
Dr Burns said the funding highlighted the importance of the US government’s support for the expansion of Riverside to enable the localisation of anode manufacturing.