The ongoing development in the electric vehicle market will give shocking news day by day. Now it’s time to get a new interesting one. Will you ever imagine that the wood is the next element to produce graphite for your lithium iron battery. This impractical thought of the past is now getting into reality.
A New Zealand-based startup CarbonScape uses wood chips to make synthetic graphite for EV batteries. The startup used the pyrolysis technology to create biochar, a carbon-rich material. The material is then milled and transformed into a raw form of graphite, which CarbonSpace says is a more sustainable option.
Graphite is an essential material for the making of Lithium Ion Batteries. It accounts for up to the half weight of the standard battery, said the Wall Street Journal.
Currently, China is the leading producer of graphite. It produces 60% of the world’s natural graphite and 69% of all synthetic graphite. Report stated that “up to 90% of the EV battery supply chain relies on China”. This dominance allows China to make cheaper batteries than its counterparts. Further the vulnerability of the global market and dependency on China awakens the other countries of Europe and The U.S.
One way the new innovation is seen as a ray of hope to counter China but the other side is still not convinced with CarbonScape’s technology. They are saying that it requires too many woodchips and isn’t as cost-effective as graphite, per the Journal.
Instead of that, CarbonSpace is gaining worldwide attention and secured an estimated $18 million of funding from the European forestry products company Stora Enso. At that event Williams, the founder of the startup said,” This investment represents a strong statement of support for sustainable sourcing of battery materials for global decarbonization.”
