US-based midstream graphite player Graphex Technologies has chosen a site for a planned processing facility in Michigan.

Graphex said the Emerald Business Park (EBP) in Warren has been selected for the future site of the new 150,000 square-foot graphite processing facility.

Graphex plans that the facility will be capable of delivering up to 15,000 metric tons per annum (TPA) of coated purified spherical graphite and that it will be operational before the end of Q2 2023.

Coated purified spherical graphite is the predominant anode material for most Li-ion batteries used in EVs and renewable energy storage.

The facility would well-located anode material production capabilities to supply major North American EV automakers and EV battery manufacturers and to rapidly deliver consistent high-quality materials at scale, greatly mitigating some of the supply chain interruption concerns that have plagued the EV industry in the past.

This company said the facility would be the first of several that Graphex may potentially construct in the US, Canada, and Europe as warranted by market conditions and commercial opportunities.

"Auto manufacturing runs through the veins of Warren and her workforce, and we are thrilled to play a role in the revitalization of the city's and the industry's storied tradition," said John DeMaio, CEO of Graphex Technologies and President of the Graphene Division of Graphex.

"The significance of this milestone cannot be overstated, not just for Graphex as we execute on our global diversification and expansion strategy, but for the overall US EV industry as it begins to extricate itself from overly complex supply chains."