The global market for graphite and the European silicon market have reacted with caution to news that US electric vehicle maker Tesla plans to pursue the use of silicon rather than graphite in its battery anode material.
Tesla plans to use silicon metal, rather than graphite or costlier engineered silicon materials, to make battery anodes, and announced on Tuesday September 22 that it had overcome the problem of silicon expanding.
"Silicon stores as much as nine times more energy than graphite," chief executive officer Elon Musk said during Battery Day, a socially-distanced event held outside the company's vehicle factory in Fremont, in the US state of California.
The scale of Tesla's plans to ramp-up its battery production means that there will still be a strong role for graphite, according to one graphite flake producer.
"We are excited by the pace of growth here, and still see a place for graphite in the mix," he said.
Tesla plans to produce 3TWh by 2030. This compares with industry-wide estimates in the range of 1.5-2.4TWh by 2030, according to the same source.
"Assuming you had a...