Beowulf, Epsilon partner to develop graphite processing hub in Finland

London — Exploration and development company Beowulf Mining has partnered with India-based Epsilon Carbon's lithium-ion battery subsidiary Epsilon Advanced Materials (EAM) to develop a strategic processing hub for natural flake and recycled graphite in Finland.

Beowulf said March 8 that the two companies had signed a memorandum of understanding that would allow its graphite subsidiary Fennoscandian Resources to build its downstream capability and collaborate with "a strong and innovative" technology/processing partner.

Fennoscandian is aiming to develop a production base of natural flake graphite to provide security of supply and enable Finland to achieve its ambition of a self-sufficient battery manufacturing.

Beowulf said the MOU would also allow EAM to establish itself in Finland, as a market-entry point for supplying pre-cursor anode material into Europe.

The MOU could eventually result in the establishment of a joint venture between Fennoscandian and EAM.

Beowulf CEO Kurt Budge said the MOU was part of the Fennoscandian acceleration plan, as the company "fulfils its role as a potential future supplier of the raw materials, that Finland and Europe need for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries."

The explorer is developing the Aitolampi graphite asset in Finalnd, which has a contained graphite resource of 1.275 million mt, possessing almost perfect crystallinity, which is an important prerequisite for lithium-ion batteries.

Beowulf has received funding from Business Finland, which is being used to support Fennoscandian to move downstream and develop its knowledge in processing and manufacturing value-added graphite products.

EAM Managing Director Vikram Handa said the MOU provided the potential to develop a Finland-based natural graphite business and the company actively supported the development of the Finnish Active Anode Material supply ecosystem.

"Over the past three years Epsilon group has been working closely on a range of innovative carbon products which will create substantial value over the long term," Handa said.

EAM recently commissioned a manufacturing unit to produce 2,500 mt/year of precursor for synthetic graphite and also has a 50 mt pilot plant, which uses proprietary technology for processing natural Graphite flakes to manufacture battery-grade purified spherical graphite. It aims to expand its natural graphite flake processing capacity to 25,000 mt/year by 2027.