Edmond Scientific to Lead R&D Effort to Develop Synthetic-Graphite Anode Battery Materials

Alexandria, Virginia (May 2023) –– The Department of Defense (DoD) has contracted with Edmond Scientific to research and develop an alternative approach to manufacture synthetic graphite materials for use in lithium-ion batteries.

Currently, natural graphite is processed by U.S. companies that source and import raw materials from China. It follows that this critical cell material is obtained and produced with the appreciable risk that it may be withheld during a diplomatic or economic shift or conflict. Furthermore, since the material is natural graphite, there is little opportunity to “tune” the materials to lower the gassing within the cell. There is high motivation both commercially and within the DOD to develop a replacement material that is completely U.S. sourced.

The effort will develop, produce and test customized 100% U.S. domestic synthetic graphite materials suitable for use in lithium-ion batteries in the form of prototype battery cells. Specific tasks include:

1. Analyze strategies for low-cost production.
2. Analyze optimization of production processes for advanced carbon.
3. Evaluate materials and manufacturing processes for pilot plant construction and demonstration.
4. Develop, produce, and test tailor-made domestic synthetic graphite materials suitable for use in lithium-ion batteries in the form of prototype battery cells.
5. Down select synthetic-graphite material for further evaluation.
6. Develop prototype battery cells using synthetic graphite materials.
7. Test and validate lithium-ion prototype battery performance and reliability.