Vianode launches anode based on recycled graphite

Norwegian anode material manufacturer Vianode launches the first high-performance solution based on recycled graphite as part of its next-generation material series. According to our data this is the first time a anode producer actually use recycled graphite for use in batteries.

Vianode which originally was a spin-out from Norwegian silicon manufacturer Elkem, has announced it now can offer anode material from recycled graphite. The company's anode materials are based on synthetic graphite produced in Elkem's plant in Herøya, Norway which has the capacity to produce 2,000 tons of synthetic anode graphite annually, sufficient to supply approximately 30,000 electric vehicles each year.

Vianode, which still is to reveal which customers they currently are suppling to, signed a deal with General Motors in January on delivery of synthetic graphite anode materials for electric vehicle batteries. The supply is scheduled to begin in 2027 from a new large-scale plant that Vianode plans to establish in North America. 

Vianode started to develop a recycling process for graphite already in 2018 when the company was part of Elkem. Vianode was started as a joint venture between Elkem, Hydro and the Swedish private equity company Altor, which was a founding partner in Northvolt. Since then Elkem has divested its share, while Hydro has signficantly decreased its ownership to 10%.

Although there have been several intitiatives to recycled graphite this is the first we know about that actually make it back to battery grade materials. In China graphite is recycled into refractories and other materials in the steel industry. There have also been several initiatives involving recycling companies such as Ecograf/Sungeel, Aurubis/Talga, Ascend Elements/Orbia and GEM.