2023-10-26 08:30:12
IIt is black, shiny and very dirty. It is the companion of coal and yet the essential ally in the decarbonization of the world, which is a shame since graphite is pure carbon. Appreciated since Antiquity for making pencils or ink, it is today the essential ingredient, among other things, in electric car batteries. So, when the Chinese government indicated, Thursday, October 19, that it was going to review the rules for exporting this mineral, the automotive world shook.
Presenting its financial results on Wednesday, October 25, South Korean battery manufacturer LG admitted that it was purchasing as much graphite as possible before the new Chinese rules came into force on October 1.is December. Because this mineral, in addition to its exceptional conductive and temperature resistance qualities, has another particularity: it is a Chinese monopoly. The country holds 60% of the world market for natural ore and 90% of the manufacturing of its synthetic version, which is even more popular with manufacturers.
Of course, Beijing was quick to downplay its announcement, adding that this would only concern military uses and that it would continue to sell its production to the entire planet. But everyone understood the message.
Expertise forte
Faced with the policy of restricting exports of electronic chips to China on the part of the United States and its allies, the Chinese dragon is patiently installing very sophisticated piping made of taps that it can activate quickly if necessary. In August, he had already “temporarily” restricted exports of gallium and germanium, rare metals widely used in electronics. Before reopening the valve a month later.
The concern over graphite which, unlike cobalt or nickel, has no substitute in batteries, does not date from this month of October. Already, in May, Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla, was alarmed by a risk of shortage and signed an agreement with the Australian group Syrah Resources for production in Louisiana. Because graphite is almost everywhere, often not far from coal mines.
However, reopening mines takes time, especially in Western countries. And manufacturing synthetic ones, twice as expensive but much more efficient, requires strong expertise, very concentrated in China. Autonomy, even sovereignty, in terms of batteries will not be obtained by multiplying assembly factories, but by helping the emergence of a diversified sector, all the way to the mine. We are still far from it.
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