Colorado-based Westwater Resources and subsidiary Alabama Graphite have broken ground of their graphite processing plant.

The US$20 million Alabama plant will process graphite into battery-grade graphite for use in electric vehicles and other products. EVs require an average of about 175 to 200 pounds of graphite per vehicle.

Phase I of the facility will employ at least 100 people, and will produce 7,500 metric tons of refined graphite per year when fully operational.

Currently, the US has no producers of natural-grade graphite, and imports these materials from China. The U.S. federal government has now declared graphite, along with other minerals, as a strategic mineral.

The Kellyton plant will use their own technical process to refine the battery-grade graphite, which is more environmentally sustainable than processes using hydrofluoric acids, Westwater said.

Westwater has acquired two large existing buildings adjacent to the plant site, which will be used for warehousing and logistical purposes, as well as laboratory and administrative offices, Westwater chief executive Chad Potter said.

The company also plans to continue exploration activities of a graphite deposit near the facility. Westwater acquired the mineral rights to approximately 41,900 acres, and plans for mining activities to begin in 2028.

The Kellyton plant will import raw graphite from abroad. The plant will be operational at the end of the March quarter of 2023.