Australian graphite company EcoGraf Ltd. (WKN A2PW0M / ASX EGR) is pursuing a promising strategy. The relatively environmentally friendly (hydropower) raw material from the Epanko graphite mine in Tanzania, which is further processed into unrefined spherical graphite in country, will be used to feed various plants that utilize the company’s proprietary, patented process for producing battery-grade graphite.
One of the plants using the hydrofluoric acid-free EcoGraf process is to be built in the US. And apparently, the company, led by Managing Director Andrew Spinks, has now received positive feedback from the US Department of Defense regarding possible financing support in the millions of dollars!
According to EcoGraf, it has applied for up to $76.3 million in support for the construction of an EcoGraf HFfree plant in the US through the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC). The plant is planned to have a production capacity of 20,000 to 25,000 tons of purified spherical graphite per year.
The white paper submitted by the company in accordance with the “Defense Production Act Title III Expansion of Domestic Production Capability and Capacity” stipulates that the US plant will source natural graphite from the Epanko project. This will then be processed in the planned midstream plant in Tanzania for mechanical shaping before the unrefined spherical graphite is transported to the US plant.
Leading US battery manufacturer endorses EcoGraf application
After EcoGraf submitted its application, it also received a letter of support from a major leading battery manufacturer in the US, which endorsed and supported the application. In addition, US President Trump has since announced an executive order to increase domestic production of critical raw materials in order to strengthen the country’s capabilities in that regard. The order, signed on March 20, 2025, aims to promote investment to improve the domestic supply of critical minerals, which we believe is tailored to EcoGraf’s plans.
In the meantime, EcoGraf has also made progress on the operational side, successfully completing several operational campaigns at its Product Qualification Facility (PQF). Incidentally, the PQF is funded in cooperation with the Australian Commonwealth Government’s Critical Minerals Development Program. This program is designed to support the processing of Australian battery materials.
In its positive feedback to EcoGraf, the DIBC has now stated that the application has “met” the requirements for a technical evaluation review and will continue to be considered for future funding.
The company – and we agree – sees this positive feedback as validation of its downstream development strategy, which involves producing unrefined spherical graphite in Tanzania using low-cost, green hydropower, and then building out its purification facilities that use the EcoGraf HFfree process, for which EcoGraf also holds a US patent, in large battery manufacturing centers in Europe, North America, and Asia.
