Evion Group NL (ASX:EVG, OTC:EVIGF) has paved the way for full production to begin at its expandable graphite joint venture (JV) operations in India, having secured a $2 million contract with offtake buyers.
The Panthera Graphite Technologies operation has now obtained all production testing and sample approvals necessary, and Evion has designed a detailed production schedule with plans to produce about 400 tonnes of expandable graphite product in the next 10 weeks.
This sales contract covers the first 386 tonnes of production at a price of more than US$3,000 per metric tonne FOB (free on board).
The company expects to sign further sales contracts in the short term to cover ongoing supplies for the 2025 calendar year.
Bringing expandable graphite to market
“After two years of careful planning, construction and testing, we are delighted to have reached the stage of producing and selling our world-class expandable graphite to the European market,” Evion Group managing director David Round said.
“Our expandable graphite facility near Pune, India is a technologically advanced, clean energy driven project that will produce globally significant quantities of expandable graphite to meet the world’s burgeoning demand of this material from sources outside of China.
“We have undertaken extensive research and testing with buyers and believe we can grow our business to be one of the largest producers of graphite downstream products in the world outside of China.
“On behalf of the Evion board, I’d like to publicly recognise the tremendous work completed by our JV’s board and staff.
“We are excited to be one of the first ASX-listed graphite developers to now have a 50% interest in a business that produces a valuable material delivering cash flow to our shareholders.”
Demand increases
Evion says the JV expects to host another delegation of potential buyers in the fourth quarter of this year, as demand increases globally.
Expandable graphite is used extensively in electric vehicles (EV), aerospace, energy storage and electronics, markets with strong growth outlooks.
Benchmark Minerals expects demand for graphite to increase substantially between 2018 and 2030 with a compounding annual growth rate of 7% from 2024 to reach US$707 million by 2030, as nations shift toward decarbonisation and net-zero energy systems.