If Anthony Huston has his way, he’ll be producing graphite from a mine near Nome three years from now.
Huston is the President and CEO of Graphite One, a Canadian Company, which has been exploring for the mineral on state land about 37 miles northwest of Nome.
“We have the largest graphite deposit, not just in the United States, but one of the largest in the world,” Huston said.
Graphite is a gray and greasy mineral that is used in everything from pencils to lubricants to electric motors, batteries and nuclear reactors. China is the world’s largest supplier of graphite, which the United States is dependent upon.
Although the Alaska mine at hasn’t been developed yet, Graphite One is already marketing the mineral from its Graphite Creek Mine.
“What we’re working on is something that’s never been done before,” Huston said. “So, there’s never been a graphite asset being produced in the United States and selling to another American company, making their automobile in the United States.”
At the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference on June 4, Huston announced its second agreement with Lucid Motors, a California company that makes luxury electric vehicles at a plant in Arizona.
Marc Winterhoff, the interim CEO of Lucid Motors, joined Huston on the stage.
“We’re a truly American EV manufacturer,” Winterhoff said. “Our cars are designed and engineered in California, and they’re all built in Arizona in our plant in Casa Grande.”
The Casa Grande factory and warehouse is located halfway between Tuscon and Phoenix. On its website, Lucid Motors promotes it as a “state of the art” facility, key to the company’s role as a “pioneer in advanced technology.”
Lucid Motors touts its domestic supply chain in the United States, but the company’s largest shareholder is Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund.
Last year, Lucid Motors agreed to buy synthetic graphite from Graphite One, to be produced at a plant the company plans to build in Ohio. This latest agreement would give Lucid a supply of natural graphite from Alaska.
Synthetic graphic, which is made from petroleum coke, takes more energy to produce than natural graphite, so it’s a more expensive process. In some applications that require high end performance, it’s the preferred form of graphite. But natural graphite is cheaper to produce and has a crystalline structure that allows for better battery storage. Graphite One hopes to corner the domestic market by producing both types of graphite, a key component of the lithium-ion batteries that are used in EVs.
Winterhoff says graphite overall – synthetic or natural – is in short supply and its production is dominated by the Chinese, who are positioning themselves to take over the global EV market.
“The Chinese automotive industry has not been sleeping for the last 15 years,” Winterhoff told the conference. “It’s really kind of incredible what kind of quality and functionality those vehicles currently have.”
Lucid Motors says it’s a win-win for the carmaker to secure a supply of Alaska graphite, a commitment that will help Graphite One finance its mine, and ultimately Gov. Mike Dunleavy told the conference, create new opportunities.
“So, this particular mine will employ folks mostly from the Nome and surrounding areas. High paying jobs,” Dunleavy said. “This play, by some estimates, is multi-generational. 100 years plus.”
A recent study puts the life of the mine at 20 years.
Beyond securing a supply of graphite, Lucid Motors has another Alaska connection. The company has used Delta Junction as a proving ground to see how its EVs hold up in Arctic weather.
Outside the Dena’ina Convention Center, Winterhoff showed off Lucid’s new SUV model called Gravity.
As he sat at the wheel of the car, Winterhoff pointed below the seat. “Basically the whole length of the car is filled with batteries,” batteries that he hopes will one day use Alaska graphite to store energy.
He says the Gravity can go 450 miles without a charge, enough to get from Anchorage to Fairbanks.
The company’s luxury sedan, the Lucid Air, has a range of more than 500 miles. Winterhoff says EV’s are constantly evolving.
“Think about it like your phone,” he said. “These days, you get an update. You press the button and your phone is kind of new. And that’s the same as our car as well.”
The Gravity SUV starts at around $95,000, but the company hopes to get the next version down to under $80,000. Prices for the Lucid Air range from about $70,000 to $250,000.
Lucid Motor’s commitment to buy natural and synthetic graphite is non-binding, but Graphite One hopes the agreement will help to attract financing.
Doors also opened for Graphite One, when the federal government listed graphite as a mineral critical to national defense. It won a $37.5 million grant from the U.S. Defense Department to put its feasibility study on the fast track, so permitting can begin.
When the study was released in April, it prompted worries about the trade-offs of an open pit mine.
Last month, Graphite One held a series of meetings in Nome, Teller, and Brevig Mission.
A report in the Nome Nugget described mixed feelings about the project. In the three-hour meeting at St. Joe’s Church in Nome, some raised questions about the environmental impacts of the mine on subsistence. Others touted its economic benefits.
The company also discussed changes to its original plans. Due to increased demand, it now says it plans to more than triple its output from 53,000 tons per year to 175,000 tons per year.
The news has raised the level of concern for communities like Brevig Mission and Teller, dependent on salmon that that are harvested from a network of rivers that feed into the Imuruk Basin. The mine would overlook the watershed, an important spawning ground for several species of salmon.
Graphite One has set up a subsistence advisory committee to get feedback from the community. The company told the gathering in Nome that it’s already made changes to its plans, based on the committee’s input.
The Bering Straits Native Corporation has a $2 million stake in the company, with an option to invest up to $8 million.
BSNC had no comment on Graphite One’s agreement to sell Alaska graphite to Lucid Motors.
“As Graphite One moves into the permitting phase, BSNC remains a committed partner,” said Cindy Massie, President of BSNC. “We will continue working to align opportunities with long-term regional benefits.”
BSNC says it’s involved to ensure responsible development and that communities in its region have a voice in the process.
Skeptics of the project say there are a lot of moving pieces that would need to come together for the mine to become a reality. Estimates put the price tag for the project at almost a billion dollars, one that will also require hundreds of millions of dollars in new infrastructure.
The mine faces some big-ticket challenges, such as building a road to Nome and developing fuel storage capacity, enough to supply twice as much power as the City of Nome uses in a year.
The Port of Nome would have to undergo significant improvements. Graphite One would also need to build a storage yard near the port for its graphite, which would be stockpiled during the winter months. On top of that, tariffs could drive up the costs of the mine and its infrastructure even higher.
Despite the daunting path ahead, Graphite One is pushing forward. It touts its recent inclusion on the Federal Fast-41 Permitting Dashboard, designed to expedite the permitting process by making it easier for developers, federal agencies and the public to track its progress.
Graphite One says the Lucid Motors agreement is one of many steps that gives its Graphite Creek Mine project momentum.
Graphite One’s CEO Anthony Huston says the company reached out to Lucid because of its focus on creating domestic supply chains.
“We’re very appreciative of what they’ve done,” said Huston. “That’s our first partnership agreement in 14 years since we started the company.”
Editors Note: Numbers of the amount of graphite to be produced have been corrected.
