EcoGraf (WKN A2PW0M / ASX EGR) has signed a cooperation agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), which provides the company with technical support for defined work packages in the area of critical raw materials. The focus is on the further development of EcoGraf’s vertically integrated business model, which is focused on “HFfree” graphite (graphite produced without hydrofluoric acid) – with a view to the planned projects in Tanzania and the connection to the European value chain for battery anodes.
The agreement is not a classic financing agreement, but focuses on Technical Assistance: The EIB supports EcoGraf in preparatory work to structure and plan projects and bring them to the point of implementation. This puts EcoGraf in a context that is becoming increasingly important in Europe: the development of robust, long-term and sustainable supply chains for raw materials and intermediate products required for the battery industry.
EcoGraf and the EIB: Focus on concrete work packages in Tanzania
According to the company, the technical support includes a “defined package” of activities along the EcoGraf project pipeline. At its core, it concerns two building blocks:
Firstly, the EIB is to provide support for the planned expansion study for the Epanko project. Epanko is a central component of the EcoGraf strategy of closely linking the raw material base and processing stages. The technical support aims to accelerate and specify essential preliminary work for the next project phase – for example through professional services typically required for studies, project planning and alignment with subsequent investment decisions.
Secondly, the EIB is also to support the development of the planned Midstream Mechanical Shaping Facility in Tanzania. This facility is highlighted in the communication as part of the vertically integrated orientation. “Midstream” stands for processing steps between raw material extraction and the production of battery materials. The goal: To process the graphite material in such a way that it can be integrated into downstream processes and customer structures.
In addition, EcoGraf mentions services that are specifically designed to enable the integration of the projects into the EU’s battery anode value chain. This is not only about technical project progress on site, but also about the question of how production and processing steps can be positioned in such a way that they are compatible with European requirements, supply chain structures and industrial policy objectives.
EU program and Critical Raw Materials Act as a framework
According to the announcement, the technical support services are financed from the “EU–OACPS Technical Assistance Facility on Critical Raw Materials”. This program promotes projects that contribute to the objectives of the EIB’s strategy initiative for critical raw materials and are also in line with the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM Act).
This classification is relevant for EcoGraf because it shows that the company is placing its projects in an environment in which Europe is actively supporting new raw material and processing options. The CRM Act is to be understood as a political and regulatory framework that is intended to strengthen security of supply, diversification and sustainability in the case of critical raw materials. In this context, EcoGraf is positioning itself with a business model that focuses not only on raw material supply, but on vertical integration right through to application-related processing steps.
EcoGraf refers to an EIB site visit in June 2025 and meetings in Brussels at which the company presented its vertically integrated graphite development plans. This presentation took place as part of an EU Priority Projects Showcase, which was part of the EU initiatives relating to critical raw materials. The agreement that has now been signed thus builds on an exchange that is already underway.
Strategic project status in sight: EcoGraf emphasizes vertical integration
The announcement also states that EcoGraf has been “strongly encouraged” to apply for a Strategic Project Status under the CRM Act – both for the upstream and downstream developments. Upstream typically stands for the raw material side, downstream for further processing steps towards the end product or industrial application. It is precisely this bracket – raw material plus processing – that is the central narrative that EcoGraf is setting here: a continuous chain for battery anode materials that is based on the company’s own “HFfree” technology and is intended to fit into European industrial needs.
EcoGraf emphasizes that such a status could underpin its own vision of contributing to the global transformation towards a “cleaner environment” – through the development of a sustainable supply chain for battery materials.
EcoGraf Managing Director Andrew Spinks is understandably pleased to be working with the EIB to develop reliable and sustainable supply chains for critical raw materials. Andrea Clerici, Director for Corporates and Global Activities at the EIB, explains that they support preparatory work that promotes responsible value chains for critical raw materials. This should enable potential public and private investments so that “long-term, solid and sustainable projects” can be implemented later.
The bottom line is that the agreement provides EcoGraf with one thing above all: institutionally supported project preparation for Epanko and the midstream plant – embedded in European initiatives relating to critical raw materials. For the next steps, it will be crucial how quickly the defined work packages can be translated into concrete study progress and greater integration into the European battery anode supply chain.
