Birla Carbon joins project to develop lithium battery-grade graphite from biocrude

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Birla Carbon, a manufacturer of carbon black solutions, has embarked on a collaborative project to develop biocrude-derived graphite for lithium-ion batteries.

The company has collaborated with NC State University, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Ensyn, The Battery Innovation Center (BIC), and Yale University to develop and scale up the production of biocrude-derived graphite.

“As a key player in this collaboration project, Birla Carbon will convert the biocrude-derived coke to battery-grade graphite using a new-to-the-world graphitization technology, which greatly improves the sustainability of battery materials production by both increasing product output and decreasing energy usage, said Dr. Ann Schoeb, Chief Research and Development Officer, Birla Carbon.

Birla Carbon will purportedly perform graphitization utilizing existing equipment at its facility, where it processes carbon products as part of its regular course of business.

The project aims to produce graphite more sustainably using renewable feedstocks and aligns with Birla Carbon’s goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The increase in demand for electric vehicles is primarily fueling the lithium-ion battery market, and portable electronic devices, power tools, residential energy storage, and grid-level storage applications are becoming increasingly dependent on this technology.

Graphite is one of the materials in a lithium-ion battery that stores lithium. Producing battery-grade graphite from biocrude offers a more sustainable pathway toward producing these valuable materials.

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