Louisiana Gains Position in American EV Supply Chain With Graphite Processing Facility Expansion

Published February 16, 2022

Louisiana is expanding its role in the supply chain of American-made advanced lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles with the expansion of a graphite processing facility in the state.

Governor John Bel Edwards and Syrah Resources CEO Shaun Verner announced that the company will invest $176 million to expand its Syrah Technologies graphite processing facility in Vidalia, Louisiana, providing the state with a supply-chain foothold in the rapidly expanding market for American-made electric vehicle components.

Syrah Technologies is keeping 19 employees and adding 36 new direct jobs, with average annual salaries of $69,000 plus benefits. According to Louisiana Economic Development, the project will create 52 indirect jobs, for a total of 88 new jobs in Louisiana’s Central Region.

The company will add 180,000 square feet of building and processing space to its existing 50,000 square foot facility, enough to install equipment and systems for processing natural graphite into active anode material (AAM), which will be used in lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle industry. The announcement of the expansion follows a December 2021 offtake agreement with Tesla Inc. to supply natural graphite AAM for use in batteries.

Syrah Technologies, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, is a subsidiary of Syrah Resources, which owns the Balama Graphite Operation in Mozambique. The Balama site contains globally significant natural graphite resources and is home to the world’s largest integrated natural graphite mine and processing operation. The Vidalia expansion, which will allow for an estimated 11,250 tonnes of AAM production per year, is central to Syrah’s strategy to become a large-scale vertically integrated natural graphite AAM supply option for the growing U.S. battery supply chain and electric vehicle market.

The company anticipates that construction on the AAM facility expansion will begin in the first quarter of 2022, with hiring for the new jobs beginning around the middle of the year. Construction is expected to be completed in mid-2023, with AAM production starting in the third quarter of that year.

The state of Louisiana provided Syrah with a competitive incentive package that included services from LED FastStart, the nation’s top-ranked state workforce development program for the past 12 years. Syrah Technologies is expected to take advantage of Louisiana’s competitive incentives, such as the Industrial Tax Exemption Program and the Quality Jobs program for employees based in Louisiana.

“Today’s announcement by Syrah Technologies is another example of how Louisiana’s commitment to a cleaner energy future can strengthen our economy,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “This is just the beginning of Louisiana’s efforts to help vehicle manufacturers leverage our state’s unique logistical advantages to meet increasing electric car and truck demand. We congratulate Syrah for its commitment to sustainability, and applaud their continued investment in rural Louisiana.”

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