One of the tricky things about EVs is that various components and materials are hard, if not impossible, to get from the US. That’s part of the reason that the EV tax credits that have been around the last few years (though possibly not much longer) have had stipulations requiring the use of certain amounts of US materials and manufacturing. The goal was to create incentives to get more material sourcing and production in the country. The future of those credits is in question, but that’s not stopping some automakers from continuing to invest in American parts sourcing. Lucid Motors announced a continuation of its partnership with Graphite One to get some graphite components that are made, from start to finish, in the US.
A Project That’s Been In The Works For Years
Lucid and Graphite One have been collaborating for a while now. The companies first announced a non-binding partnership back in 2024 to source graphite battery annodes from the country. Two Graphite One facilities have been planned. One of them is a factory in Ohio. This one will be where the annodes will be fully manufactured using both natural and synthetic graphite. That facility will also have recycling equipment for recovering graphite and other materials from used batteries.
The other facility will be in Alaska. This will be an actual mining facility, where natural graphite will be extracted, and then sent to the Ohio factory for annode production, and then sent to Lucid for use in batteries. This will make the components completely American-made, which is highly unusual. As Graphite One notes, the vast majority of these materials and components are imported, many from China. These parts won’t end up in Lucids for a few years, though. The current agreement has parts being supplied starting in 2028, and Graphite One will provide them for at least five years after.
Related
Automakers Sourcing Graphite In China Score Massive Tax Credit Extension
Companies can continue to source graphite there until 2027 and still qualify for the credit.
Lucid Has Other American-Made Components Coming Sooner
Lucid hasn’t only partnered with Graphite One. It also previously announced it would work with Syrah Resources for the same kinds of parts. That company doesn’t have a US-based mining facility, instead relying on a mine it owns in Mozambique. However, it sends that graphite to an annode plant in Louisiana. That factory is also already operational, and Lucid will be getting parts from it soon. The current agreement is for Syrah to start supplying annodes next year, and the agreement lasts for three years.
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