On July 16, 2026, Graphite One announced that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) had determined its air permit application for the planned anode active material (AAM) plant in Conneaut, Ohio, to be preliminarily and administratively complete, and had begun technical review. This is not the issuance of a permit. Moreover, the initial production planned for Q4 2027 is a 10,000-tonne-per-year process of finishing and blending purchased, already-graphitized material. The high-temperature process to produce synthetic graphite from precursor material, and the fully integrated supply chain using Alaska-sourced natural graphite, are planned to follow later.
With this entry into technical review, the plant project has advanced from application acceptance to technical evaluation. Meanwhile, a formal site lease and construction financing are not yet in place. As of May 19, six customers were undergoing specification testing, and raw material suppliers have not been disclosed. It is necessary to distinguish between the stage of "operating a plant within the United States" and the stage of "connecting raw materials to finished AAM entirely within the United States."
"Application Complete" Is Not the Same as Obtaining a Permit
What the Ohio EPA confirmed is that the application contains the materials needed to begin detailed technical review. In standard completeness notices the agency has issued to other operators, it is explicitly stated that this determination does not mean the application can be approved. Reviewers may request additional information or clarification, and after technical review, they will draft either permit conditions or a denial recommendation, which is then forwarded to a central division for confirmation.
As of June, Graphite One had set a target of completing environmental review and permitting by Q1 2027. This is the company's own schedule, not a permit-issuance date promised by the Ohio EPA. The July 16 announcement also lists the completion of permitting and financing as conditions for the start of production.
The status of the site is also one step short of "plant confirmed." Graphite One has signed an occupancy permit agreement with the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway, to conduct on-site surveys. If the survey results are satisfactory, the company will proceed to a formal lease. Conneaut offers access to Great Lakes shipping, rail, and an on-site substation, whereas Warren, Ohio—previously planned as the site—was dropped from the lease because the necessary power infrastructure could not be readied within the project timeline.
Electricity is also a factor determining the plant's scale. What utility FirstEnergy has confirmed is the supply capacity needed for a 10,000-tonne-per-year finishing and blending plant. For the second phase, which includes high-temperature graphitization equipment, development conditions—including power contracts—remain unresolved.
The 2027 10,000-Tonne Capacity Starts With Finishing and Blending
Domestication of synthetic graphite AAM is divided into three phases.
| Phase | Company's Target Timing/Capacity | Plant Activities | Remaining Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Q4 2027, approx. 10,000 tonnes/year | Finish, coat, and blend purchased, already-graphitized synthetic graphite | Permit, formal lease, financing, customer qualification |
| Phase 2 | Q4 2028, 25,000 tonnes/year | Introduce high-temperature graphitization equipment to process purchased precursor material | Large equipment, power, financing, commissioning |
| Final Phase | Timing undisclosed | Add a precursor plant using domestic raw materials | Raw material contracts, equipment, customer specifications |
Phase 1 is designed to start from the downstream end of the supply chain in order to generate revenue quickly. Graphite One's Q1 2026 investor presentation states that the company will purchase already-graphitized synthetic graphite material and process it into finished AAM tailored to customer specifications. Because the suppliers and countries of origin of the purchased material have not been disclosed, dependence on imported raw materials and graphitization processes may persist even after shipment from Conneaut.
Graphitization, which will be added in Phase 2, is a process that treats carbon materials such as petroleum coke at temperatures exceeding 2,500°C to refine their crystal structure. In a 2025 lifecycle assessment published by researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, the graphitization process accounted for over 74% of the total environmental impact calculated for domestic US manufacturing of synthetic graphite AAM. The main causes were electricity and materials such as crucibles used in the process. Whether Conneaut can secure a high-capacity power supply will determine the feasibility of Phase 2.
Manufacturing know-how also has ties overseas. In 2024, Graphite One entered into an exclusive license agreement for North American AAM technology with Hunan Chenyu Fuji New Energy Technology, based in Changsha, China, under which it receives advisory support from design through commissioning and operation. The agreement involves royalty and per-process payments and does not grant Chenyu equity or management control. Even with plans to locate operations within the United States, the origins of the initial-stage materials and manufacturing technology are not entirely domestic.
$37.5 Million in DoD Support and a $1.4 Billion LOI
It is a fact that Graphite One has received support from the US Department of Defense. Under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA), the department provided $37.5 million to accelerate the feasibility study for the Graphite Creek project. According to the company's financial disclosures, the DoD's cost cap was $37.3 million, covering 75% of the environmental work needed for the study and final permit application. This funding is not a construction subsidy for the Conneaut plant.
The government-side financing consideration targeting plant construction is the up to $1.4 billion Letter of Interest (LOI) that the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) presented in December 2025. The target is the AAM plant in northeastern Ohio, and EXIM has publicly stated that it approved this LOI. However, Graphite One describes it as non-binding, potential debt financing. Due diligence and credit review would follow a formal application, and the final commitment would be a separate decision.
Finalization of funding affects the production timeline. Graphite One held approximately $18.56 million in cash as of the end of March 2026 but has not yet generated operating revenue. The company itself has disclosed that it will need additional financing to cover operating and development expenses over the next 12 months, and that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Alongside consideration of government support, it is pursuing joint ventures, equity, and debt financing in parallel.
The Gap Between US Site Location and a US Supply Chain
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the United States had no mine production of natural graphite in 2025, and net import reliance stood at 100% against apparent consumption of 71,000 tonnes. Natural graphite imports totaled 79,000 tonnes, with China as the largest supplier from 2021 to 2024, accounting for 46%. As long as domestic natural graphite mining remains absent, raw material imports will persist even as downstream plants increase.
Imports of finished AAM have also increased. Combined imports of natural-graphite-based and synthetic-graphite-based AAM reached 43,400 tonnes from January to August 2025, up 54% from 28,100 tonnes in the same period the previous year. Sources were China at 55%, Indonesia at 31%, and South Korea at 14%. While Conneaut's initial process—starting from purchased graphitized material—can quickly ramp up domestic processing capacity, the actual state of the supply chain will vary depending on which country's material is used.
Graphite Creek in Alaska, which is to handle the upstream natural graphite supply, has completed a feasibility study for producing 175,000 tonnes of concentrate annually over 20 years. However, on July 9, 2026, the company announced that it would advance the federal review from an environmental assessment to the more comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. Production start in 2029 is the company's target, pending completion of the EIS and required permits. Construction of a natural-graphite AAM plant also depends on mine permitting and sales contracts.
Therefore, what this entry into technical review advances is the first 10,000 tonnes of converting purchased material into finished product. Whether it leads to a fully domestic supply chain will first depend on the Ohio EPA's final decision, a formal lease, and binding construction financing. Beyond that lie the country of origin of purchased materials and customer qualification, the graphitization equipment planned for 2028, and the Alaska mine from 2029 onward. Only once all of these are realized will the company achieve the fully integrated domestic supply chain it envisions.