Stellantis and Novonix battery graphite deal

Up to 115,000 tonnes of synthetic graphite material from 2026-2031 will be supplied to Stellantis’ cell manufacturing partners in North America under an agreement with Brisbane-headquartered battery materials and technology company Novonix.

The material will come from Novonix’s Riverside facility in Chattanooga, Tennesee, and a planned expansion site.

“We are excited to have Stellantis’ commitment, now as our largest customer, to support their North American EV growth plans,” says Novonix chief executive Dr Chris Burns.

“This contract allocates the remainder of our available volumes at our Riverside facility and a portion of volumes to be produced at our planned greenfield facility.

“Offtake agreements with high-quality partners such as Stellantis solidify Novonix’s position as a leader in onshoring the supply chain of synthetic graphite and accelerating the adoption of clean energy.”

Novonix says its Riverside facility is poised to become the first large-scale production site dedicated to high-performance synthetic graphite for the battery sector in North America and expected to start commercial production in 2025, with plans to grow output to 20,000 tonnes annually to meet current customer commitments.

Previously, the company announced the US Department of Energy (DOE) office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) awarded the company a US$100 million grant and was selected for a US$103 million investment tax credit towards the funding of the Riverside facility.

Novonix plans to build a new production facility (in the southeastern United States) with an initial capacity of 30,000 tonnes annually and to expand that facility to 75,000 tonnes annually, with Novonix in discussions with the DOE Loan Program Office for an Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program loan to support construction.

The company aims for at least 150,000 tonnes annually of synthetic graphite material to accommodate anticipated customer demand.

Stellantis plans to invest more than 50 billion euros over the decade in electrification to deliver on its targets of reaching 100% passenger car BEVs.

It’s securing about 400GWh of battery capacity, including support from battery manufacturing plants in North America and Europe.