News & Intelligence

The U.S. Department of Energy has allocated $500 million to strengthen domestic processing and manufacturing of critical battery materials, aiming to reduce foreign supply chain reliance by 15% by 2030.

HydroGraph Clean Power Inc. opened its Texas headquarters in Austin, featuring a facility capable of producing 30 tons of pristine graphene annually. Congressman John Carter attended the event.

The Ellington anaerobic digestion facility will use 115 tons of Arigna biochar for ground stabilization, aiding carbon offset in construction. Completion is expected in approximately 18 months.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality awarded $1 million for mobile biochar equipment to convert Hurricane Helene debris into a soil amendment for flood-damaged farmland in Haywood County.

HydroGraph Clean Power is urging the U.S. to classify graphene as a critical material to reduce reliance on foreign graphite, highlighting its domestic production capability from hydrocarbon gases.

Swedish defense contractor Saab and Singapore's Penguin Shipyard International have delivered the first carbon-fiber composite superstructure for the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Victory-class Multi-Role Combat Vessel program. This integration of carbon-fiber materials into naval shipbuilding offers advantages such as reduced weight and radar cross-section, which are critical for modern combat vessel performance and efficiency.

Researchers at the Institute of Environment under the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center have developed a technology for large-scale biochar production from agricultural and forestry biomass, capable of producing over 50,000 tonnes annually. This advancement in biochar technology supports environmental sustainability by transforming agricultural waste into a high-value carbon-rich material, with applications in soil enhancement, energy storage, and more.

India has launched the National Critical Mineral Mission with a budget of 343 billion rupees to boost domestic graphite mining and reduce import dependency by 2031. This initiative is crucial for securing a stable supply of graphite, an essential material for electric vehicle batteries and other clean energy technologies, as India aims to meet its ambitious climate goals.

The International Virtual Institute of Global Changes and COMLURB have converted approximately one ton of urban tree trimmings in Rio de Janeiro into 300 kilograms of biochar and pyrolytic oil using pyrolysis. This initiative transforms municipal green waste into valuable resources for soil improvement and energy research, highlighting a sustainable approach to waste management in the carbon materials sector.

Researchers at the International Virtual Institute of Global Changes, COPPE/UFRJ, in partnership with COMLURB, have converted one ton of urban pruning waste in Rio de Janeiro into approximately 300 kilos of biochar and pyrolytic oil. This initiative demonstrates the potential of using urban plant waste as a raw material for producing carbon-rich biochar, which can be used as a soil conditioner and for carbon storage, contributing to sustainable waste management and decarbonization efforts.

Penguin Shipyard International has completed and delivered the largest composite superstructure ever built in Singapore for the Republic of Singapore Navy's new Multi Role Combat Vessel, with the first of six structures handed over to Saab on June 27, 2026. The use of carbon fiber composites in the superstructure reduces weight and radar cross-section, enhancing the ship's stability and stealth capabilities compared to conventional steel designs.

South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT rated four of its 14 Small-scale R&D Zones—Seoul Hongneung, Pohang, Incheon Seo-gu, and Jinju—as "Excellent" in the 2025 annual evaluation, with Pohang's zone directing roughly 11 billion won toward Graphene Square and POSTECH to build the world's first mass-production plant for graphene film. The Pohang result signals growing state-backed infrastructure for scaling graphene manufacturing, a persistent bottleneck for the advanced carbon materials sector.

OCSiAl has been named a single-wall carbon nanotube supplier to Volkswagen Group's battery subsidiary PowerCo for its Unified Cell platform, with supply coming from OCSiAl's audited production facility in Serbia. The deal extends single-wall carbon nanotube use into a major European automaker's standardized battery platform, where the material serves as a conductive additive in graphite anodes to improve conductivity, heat dissipation, and fast-charging performance.

ECS Composites, headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon, announced advances in its carbon fiber composite enclosures for military applications, claiming weight and thickness reductions of up to 50% compared to traditional fiberglass designs. The development reflects demand for lighter carbon fiber composites in defense protective systems, where weight reduction without loss of structural integrity is a key performance requirement.

Researchers at the University of Aveiro developed 3D-printed filters from bauxite refining waste (red mud) that removed over 90% of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin within one hour under UV light. The work demonstrates a functional application for carbon nanotubes in photocatalytic water treatment using industrial byproducts, with the material retaining performance across multiple decontamination cycles.

PowerCo, Volkswagen Group's battery subsidiary, selected OCSiAl to supply TUBALL single-wall carbon nanotube additives for the graphite anodes of its Unified Cell platform, manufactured at OCSiAl's Serbia facility. The deal expands the role of single-wall carbon nanotubes in large-scale EV battery production, with OCSiAl now supplying the majority of European EV battery manufacturers and planning a $300 million graphene nanotube facility in Luxembourg.

Marstrom Composite AB, a subsidiary of Scandinavian Astor Group, signed a five-year framework agreement worth approximately SEK 100 million with an undisclosed western defence company to supply structural composite components. The deal provides a long-term revenue base for Marstrom's carbon fibre composites business and signals growing demand for advanced composite structural parts in western defence programmes.

Jamco joined a NEDO-led Japanese consortium—including Nagoya University, Subaru, and JAXA—to develop a circular economy supply chain for recovering and reusing CFRP from retired aircraft. The project targets a persistent gap in the carbon fiber composites sector: the lack of validated processes and standards needed to reintroduce recycled CFRP into certified aircraft components.

Bolder Industries received final permits on 15 June 2025 to build an 86ktpa end-of-life tire pyrolysis facility at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, to be developed in two phases with EU Innovation Fund co-funding. The plant will supply recovered carbon black at commercial scale to European markets, adding to Bolder's existing US operations in Missouri and Indiana.

The EU-funded HOOP project helped eight European cities and regions mobilise EUR 124 million to convert urban biowaste into circular bioeconomy outputs including biochar, biogas, bioplastics, and agricultural nutrients. Biochar production via pyrolysis emerged as a replicable pathway across multiple territories, with Kuopio (Finland) establishing an operational pilot plant and Münster (Germany) confirming technical feasibility, signaling growing municipal-scale demand for pyrolysis infrastructure relevant to the biochar sector.

TNB Research has operated an anaerobic digestion and torrefaction pilot facility in Kajang since 2018, processing up to 350kg of food waste daily to produce biogas with 60–65% methane content and 10–30kg of biochar per torrefaction cycle. The biochar output is being evaluated for carbon material applications, soil improvement, and solid fuel enhancement, with data from the pilot intended to inform future scale-up decisions.

BRIN's Molecular Chemistry Research Center used slow pyrolysis to convert empty oil palm fruit bunch waste into bio-oil, liquid smoke, and biochar, with processing times of two to four hours. The process yields biochar as a value-added carbon material and bio-oil containing phenolic compounds usable as industrial boiler fuel or potential fuel additives.

The Advanced Carbons Council published an overview of graphene and other advanced carbon materials being adopted in construction, citing applications in concrete (Concretene, First Graphene, Versarien), asphalt, and corrosion-resistant coatings (Petronas). These developments indicate growing commercial deployment of graphene additives in construction materials, with documented performance gains in compressive strength, road durability, and steel protection at low material loadings.

The Advanced Carbons Council highlights graphene and related carbon materials being adopted in construction applications including concrete additives (Concretene, First Graphene), graphene-reinforced 3D-printed components (Versarien), asphalt modification, and corrosion-resistant coatings (Petronas). For the advanced carbon materials sector, construction has emerged as a leading commercial deployment area, with multiple suppliers demonstrating validated, scalable products that improve strength, durability, and emissions performance without requiring major process changes.

Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) submitted a Significant New Use Notice (SNUN) to the US EPA on June 2, 2026, seeking authorization to manufacture, distribute, and sell graphene coatings, lubricants, and fluids domestically in the United States, with approval expected by end of June 2027. The filing marks a shift from export-only access to domestic graphene production in the US, which could establish a local graphene supply chain for industrial applications including HVAC coatings and engine lubricant additives.

NeoGraf commissioned a new production line at its Lakewood, Ohio facility, adding 2,000 tonnes per annum of flexible graphite sheet capacity funded by a $38 million investment, bringing its total to 11,000 tonnes per annum. The expansion increases domestic supply of high-purity exfoliated graphite sheets for EV battery thermal management, where the material's in-plane thermal conductivity above 600 W/m·K at low density addresses a critical requirement for North American automotive manufacturers.

Premier Graphene Inc and Mitsubishi Pencil Company signed a joint development agreement to co-develop graphene-based conductive inks for printed electronics, targeting two co-branded product launches in late 2026 with a combined first-year revenue target of 12 million USD. The deal advances commercial adoption of single-layer graphene dispersions in printed electronics applications such as RFID tags, smart packaging, and biosensor electrodes.

HydroGraph Clean Power received US EPA TSCA Section 5(e) clearance for two turbostratic graphene materials (P-24-0086/P-24-0087) alongside UK REACH and EU REACH registrations, authorizing commercial manufacture and supply across the US, UK, and EU. The approvals remove a key regulatory barrier for graphene commercialization in three major markets, allowing customers to scale up applications under defined compliance conditions.

Advanced Graphene Products has begun supplying ISO 10993-certified graphene oxide from its Zielona Gora facility to Boston Scientific under a $4.2 million contract for a two-year, 480-patient FDA-approved clinical trial of antimicrobial-coated cardiac catheters. The trial represents a direct application of graphene oxide in regulated medical devices, with a potential commercial supply pathway if Boston Scientific proceeds to FDA submission.

HydroGraph added Hubron International, a Manchester-based masterbatch and conductive polymer compounder with over 90 years of experience, to its Fractal Graphene Compounding Partner Program on February 10, 2026. The partnership gives HydroGraph access to Hubron's global distributor network and established carbon nanomaterial processing capabilities, supporting broader commercial adoption of graphene in thermoplastic applications across automotive, electronics, and other sectors.

SK On signed a five-year, $180 million supply contract with Hansolchemical for 4,500 tonnes per annum of graphene additive for NCM811 cathodes, with shipments starting Q1 2027. The deal signals growing industrial-scale demand for graphene as a functional cathode additive in EV batteries, and will require Hansolchemical to expand its Gumi facility beyond its current 1,200 tonne per annum capacity.