Graphite One Inc. President and CEO Anthony Huston joined industry leaders at the White House last week as President Joe Biden unveiled plans to impose tariffs on natural graphite from China. The tariffs, set to begin in 2026, aim to reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese graphite and promote domestic production.
“I was honored to represent everyone at Graphite One in the meeting with President Biden,” Huston said in a press release. “We appreciate his support for the renewable energy transition and are excited to push forward in creating a secure U.S.-based supply chain for natural and synthetic graphite.”
Graphite One is advancing plans to develop a mine to the north of Nome, home to the largest known graphite deposit in the U.S. Notably, the tariffs set forth by President Biden will begin before 2029 when Graphite One’s mine may begin operations.
These initiatives are supported by a $37.5 million grant awarded in 2023 from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Huston noted that the injection of funding from last year’s U.S. DOD grant cut “about two years off of our initial Feasibility Study timeline.”
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that mining projects for critical minerals like graphite are eligible for its $72 billion Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program. Through the federal program, borrowers such as Graphite One can access direct loans from the U.S. Treasury backed by a 100% “full faith and credit” DOE guarantee. Graphite One is expected to meet the criteria for the program and may utilize the funding to further accelerate their timeline to reach operational status.
Graphite is a key component in lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and store energy. The U.S. Geological Survey forecasts a demand of over five million metric tons of graphite annually by 2030, a significant increase from the 1.6 million metric tons mined globally in 2023. The U.S. currently lacks domestic graphite mines and relies on China for all of its graphite.
In addition to a 25% tariff on graphite imports, the White House also announced tariffs on lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles.
