Northern Graphite Corporation (TSX-V: NGC | OTCQB: NGPHF | FRA/XSTU: 0NG) (“Northern”), together with Rain Carbon Germany GmbH, HC Starck Tungsten GmbH, and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, has launched USE-G: Environmentally Friendly and Safe Graphite Extraction for Europe’s Battery Industry—a three-year research and development initiative supported primarily by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
The program is designed to develop graphite processing routes that are cleaner, less energy-intensive, and structured to help Europe reduce reliance on Chinese-controlled purification, coating, and shaping technologies. The Ministry is contributing €1.14 million toward the project’s total budget of €1.70 million.
Graphite is a critical ingredient in lithium-ion batteries, accounting for as much as 40% of anode active material. Yet Europe remains heavily dependent on external supply chains to refine and convert graphite into battery-grade form. USE-G aims to advance a fully European processing pathway, including hydrofluoric acid-free purification, safer and more sustainable coating options, and recovery and reuse of graphite from black mass generated through battery recycling.
Under the program, Northern Graphite will supply natural graphite from its operating mine in Canada and, subject to restart, its Okanjande mine in Namibia (currently on care and maintenance). Both sources produce graphite certified for battery applications. Northern’s German laboratory will handle milling and shaping, along with final battery testing of materials produced through the program.
At the same time, HC Starck Tungsten will apply its proprietary approach to extract graphite from battery black mass—material typically lost or destroyed during conventional recycling—so that it can be purified, coated, and returned to the supply chain. Friedrich Schiller University Jena will lead research into a new purification method using chlorine gas, intended to provide a cleaner alternative to hydrofluoric acid while also reducing energy use compared to high-temperature thermal purification. While chlorine-based purification has been demonstrated in other applications, its use for graphite has not been evaluated systematically. USE-G will conduct structured testing of this method for both natural and recycled graphite streams.
Once purified, graphite will be supplied to Rain, which will develop new carbon coating materials and coating processes using alternative carbon raw materials. The work is intended to reduce environmental impact while improving long-term availability versus traditional coal tar-derived inputs.
During the early stages, natural graphite and recycled graphite will be processed separately to establish purity levels and performance baselines. Later, partners will test the feasibility of blending the two streams into a single anode-grade product aimed at commercial qualification by battery manufacturers. All project activities will be carried out in Germany across the partners’ facilities, supported by natural graphite shipments from Northern’s mining operations abroad.
Announcing the program, Hugues Jacquemin, CEO of Northern Graphite, said “Europe’s energy transition will depend on secure and sustainable supply chains for graphite that are independent and environmentally responsible. USE-G brings together strong European research and industrial capability to develop cleaner, lower-energy processing technologies built around circular-economy principles. The initiative also demonstrates how graphite produced by Northern in Canada and Namibia can be upgraded in Europe into next-generation battery materials.”
Alexander Zeugner, Project Manager Technology & Innovation Global at HC Starck Tungsten GmbH, added “Graphite makes up a large share of battery black mass, but it has rarely been reused. USE-G, building on our recycling process, aims to change that. Success would be a meaningful step toward circular lithium-ion battery value chains in Europe.”
Dr Martin Oschatz, Professor at the Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, stated “We will evaluate chlorine-gas purification at elevated temperatures as a cleaner alternative to hydrofluoric acid and a lower-energy option compared to thermal purification. This research could open up new European purification routes that improve environmental performance without compromising quality.”
USE-G began on 1 January 2026 and will run through 31 December 2029. By the end of the program, the partners aim to demonstrate a fully European-controlled processing flow sheet covering purification, shaping, coating, recycling, and performance testing—supporting Europe’s energy transition and its long-term objective of building secure, sustainable battery material supply chains.
Northern Graphite is a Canadian company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the only producer of flake graphite in North America. The company is focused on scaling natural graphite production and upgrading it into higher-value materials used in the green economy, including lithium-ion battery anode materials for EVs, fuel cells, graphene, and advanced industrial applications.
Northern’s mine-to-battery strategy is led by its Battery Materials Group, supported by an advanced laboratory in Frankfurt. Its assets include the producing Lac des Iles mine in Quebec (currently increasing output), the large-scale Bissett Creek project in Ontario, and the fully permitted Okanjande mine in Namibia—currently on care and maintenance—with potential for rapid, lower-cost production growth. All projects contain battery-quality graphite and are located in stable jurisdictions near infrastructure.
Rain’s German R&D and production operations are located in Duisburg and Castrop-Rauxel. Its carbon segment upgrades aromatic by-products from petroleum refining, steel production, and bio-based/recycled sources into high-value carbon materials and precursors used across industrial applications. Products such as LIONCOAT®, PETRORES® and CARBORES® are used globally in electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries, including natural graphite, synthetic graphite, and silicon-carbon composite systems.
