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Northern Graphite Corporation, in collaboration with Rain Carbon Germany GmbH, H.C. Starck Tungsten GmbH, and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, has launched the USE-G project, a three-year R&D initiative focused on sustainable graphite extraction for Europe's battery industry.

Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy with €1.14 million of a €1.70 million budget, the project aims to develop cleaner graphite processing technologies and reduce dependency on Chinese supply chains. Northern Graphite will supply natural graphite from its Canadian mine and a potential Namibian site.

H.C. Starck Tungsten will recover graphite from lithium-ion battery recycling. The project’s purification method, led by Friedrich Schiller University, will explore chlorine gas as a cleaner alternative to hydrofluoric acid.

Rain Carbon Germany will develop new carbon coatings from alternative materials to enhance availability and reduce environmental impact. Initial processing will focus on separate natural and recycled graphite, with future plans to assess blending for anode materials.