Mozambican graphite will supply batteries for Lucid’s electric cars
Graphite extracted from the Mozambican Balama mine by the Australian mining company Syrah will be used from 2026 in the batteries of the North American electric car manufacturer Lucid, considered one of the most advanced in the world.
According to information provided to the markets today by Syrah, this is a three-year agreement involving the Vidalia factory of that Australian group, in the United States of America (USA), which in turn is fed by graphite extracted in northern Mozambique, providing for the supply, over three years, of 7,000 tons of natural graphite active anode material (AMM).
Lucid is a Nasdaq-listed technology company based in Silicon Valley that is working, Syrah recalls,
On creating the world’s most advanced electric vehicles, with best-in-class performance and efficiency.
At its state-of-the-art factory in Arizona, USA, the brand produces the Lucid Air, as well as a new SUV model, the Lucid Gravity, and from January 2026 Vidalia will supply the material to the battery manufacturers of that automotive brand.
Syrah emphasizes, noting that in the current structure of the natural graphite and AAM supply chain, Vidalia,
Vidalia and its vertical integration with [Mozambican mine] Balama is a unique value proposition for governments and participants in the battery supply chain,
“is one of the few suppliers” of its kind for this “critical mineral supply.”
Thus, he says, Vidalia, powered by the Bolama mine in Cabo Delgado province,
Is an essential source of supply of essential minerals for the North American market for batteries for electric vehicles.
Australian mining company Syrah previously announced that it received in November the first disbursement, worth $53 million (50.9 million euros), of a $150 million (144 million euros) loan from the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
This was the first loan of its kind from the U.S. Government’s development finance institution for a graphite mining operation, involving the expansion of the Balama mine and its sustainability.
Syrah said,
Further disbursements of DFC loans are not available while Balama operations are blocked by protest actions. The disruption of operations at Balama is being monitored by all parties,
adding that it “continues to work collaboratively” with DFC and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Balama’s production had risen to 41,000 tonnes of natural graphite in the first quarter of 2023, up from 35,000 tonnes in the previous quarter, above sales, which rose from 28,000 to 30,000 tonnes.
The Australian firm built a battery material factory in Vidalia, in the southeastern United States of America, powered by Mozambican ore, in this case with two tons sent last April.
Mozambique expected to produce more than 329,040 tons of graphite in 2024, a raw material needed to produce batteries for electric vehicles, an increase of more than 180% compared to this year’s performance, according to government forecasts.
The country produced 120,000 tons of graphite in 2020, a performance that fell to 77,116 tons the following year, while estimates for 2022 and 2023 were, respectively, 182,024 and 117,416 tons.
READ the latest Batteries News shaping the battery market
Mozambican graphite will supply batteries for Lucid’s electric cars, source
