Northern Graphite Corporation, along with Rain Carbon Germany GmbH, H.C. Starck Tungsten GmbH, and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, has launched a three-year research and development initiative aimed at building cleaner and more sustainable graphite processing technologies for Europe’s battery industry.

The project, titled USE-G (Environmentally Friendly and Safe Graphite Extraction for Europe’s Battery Industry), is largely funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, which will contribute €1.14 million toward the total €1.70 million budget.

The initiative seeks to develop graphite processing methods that are environmentally friendly, less energy-intensive, and independent of Chinese supply chains. Graphite is a key component of lithium-ion batteries, accounting for up to 40 per cent of the anode’s active material, yet Europe currently relies heavily on imports for purification and shaping technologies.

Under the program, Northern Graphite will supply natural graphite from its operations in Canada and Namibia, while carrying out milling, shaping and battery testing at its German lab. H.C. Starck Tungsten will deploy its recycling technology to recover graphite from spent battery “black mass,” enabling reuse of materials typically lost during recycling.

Meanwhile, Friedrich Schiller University Jena will lead the development of a chlorine-based purification method as a cleaner alternative to hydrofluoric acid, while Rain Carbon will create sustainable carbon coating materials to enhance graphite’s electrochemical performance.

The partners will initially process natural and recycled graphite separately before testing blended materials for next-generation anode production. All research activities will be conducted in Germany.

The USE-G program began on January 1, 2026, and will run through December 2029, with the goal of establishing a fully European-controlled, circular and sustainable graphite supply chain for battery manufacturing.