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GRAPHITE MARKET
WEEKLY UPDATE:
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| Highlights from 19 - 23 January, 2026 |
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WEEKLY SUMMARY
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This week in the graphite market, Ryzon Materials (formerly Magnis Energy) was delisted from the ASX following a two-year trading suspension, though the company continues pursuing Chinese financing for its Nachu project in Tanzania. Talga signed a development agreement with Porsche-owned V4Smart to qualify its graphite anode for next-generation fast-charging battery cells. Blencowe Resources signed an LOI with Italian processor Alkeemia to purify Orom-Cross graphite to 99.99% carbon content - a cleaner, non-Chinese route strengthening its European positioning. Syrah Resources and Tesla extended the cure date for an alleged offtake default to March 16, 2026, as both parties continue collaborating on Vidalia anode qualification. |
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Turning to the wider market, Tesla has begun offering fully driverless robotaxi rides in Austin, removing the human safety operator from the front seat - the company is mixing unsupervised vehicles with monitored ones and will increase the ratio over time.
Meanwhile, Lucid increased its 2025 deliveries by 55% to 15,841 vehicles, benefiting from the first full year of sales for its Gravity SUV, while also developing a robotaxi with Nuro backed by a $300 million Uber investment.
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KEY UPDATES FROM GRAPHITE COMPANIES
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LSE: BRES: Blencowe Strengthens European Processing and Offtake Strategy with Alkeemia LOI
ASX: LEL: Long Term Suspended Entities
ASX: MRC: Long Term Suspended Entities
ASX: RYZ: Removal from the Official List
TSXV: GPH: The Sovereignty Trade: Washington’s $2.5B Push to Secure Critical Minerals
ASX: MRC: Deferral Relief
ASX: RYZ: Delisting from the ASX
ASX: SYR: Tesla Offtake Alleged Default Cure Date Extended
ASX: TLG: Talga and V4Smart Enter Battery Anode Development Agreement
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| TOP 5 GAINERS OF THE WEEK |
| Applied Graphite Technologies: |
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108% |
| Evolution Energy Minerals: |
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67% |
| Emergent Metals: |
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45% |
| Leading Edge Materials: |
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36% |
| International Graphite: |
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27% |
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| TOP 5 DECLINERS OF THE WEEK |
| E-Power Resources: |
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-20% |
| NEO Battery Materials: |
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-13% |
| Volt Resources: |
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-11% |
| Elcora Advanced Materials: |
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-8% |
| Evion: |
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-6% |
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CarbonX Materials: A Drop-In Alternative to Graphite |
In our latest episode, I spoke with Rutger Van Raalten, Co-founder and CEO of CarbonX Materials.
CarbonX is a battery anode materials company based in the Netherlands, developing a more sustainable, cost-efficient, and locally produced alternative to graphite for batteries.
We cover:
- How CarbonX has re-engineered carbon black to store lithium ions, creating a drop-in replacement for synthetic graphite in lithium-ion batteries
- Their process uses 70% less energy than conventional synthetic graphite production
- The advantage of minimal capex by retrofitting existing infrastructure
- How their material matches synthetic graphite performance while offering better cycle life
- Late-stage qualification progress with US and European cell manufacturers
- Their upcoming first offtake announcement
- Production outlook
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| Tanzania, US announce strategic partnership on graphite research
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Tanzania and the United States have announced a long-term partnership focused on graphite research, aimed at unlocking the country’s mineral potential and strengthening technological collaboration.
Key points:
- Partnership centred on joint graphite research between Tanzania and the US
- Work will focus on the Lindi and Mtwara regions on licences held by state-owned STAMICO
- Use of advanced US technology to improve resource mapping and identify new investment opportunities
- Objective to support development of a major, state-backed graphite mining operation
- Graphite demand projected to reach 4.5 million tonnes per year by 2050
- Collaboration includes skills transfer, professional training, and technology exchange
- Positions Tanzania as a strategic supplier of graphite into global clean energy supply chains
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GENERAL EV MARKET NEWS
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| Tesla launches robotaxi rides in Austin with no human safety driver
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Tesla has begun offering fully driverless robotaxi rides in Austin, removing the human safety operator from the front seat. CEO Elon Musk announced the milestone on X, crediting the Tesla AI team.
The company initially launched its Austin robotaxi service last June with safety operators present, first offering rides to influencers and selected customers. Testing without front-seat drivers began in December.
Not all vehicles are unsupervised yet - Tesla is mixing driverless cars with monitored ones and will increase the ratio over time. The rides are paid, and chase cars reportedly follow the autonomous vehicles. |
| Read Here |
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| Lucid delivers nearly 16,000 Electric Vehicles in 2025
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California-based EV manufacturer Lucid increased its 2025 deliveries by 55% to 15,841 vehicles, likely benefiting from the first full year of sales for its second model, the Lucid Gravity SUV.
Production also surged, with Lucid manufacturing 18,378 vehicles for the year - a 104% increase over 2024. This slightly exceeded the revised forecast of 18,000 units but fell short of the original 20,000 target.
Looking ahead, Lucid plans to unveil a more affordable mid-size EV in summer 2026, priced around $48,000-$50,000 to compete with Tesla's Model Y. The company is also developing a robotaxi with Nuro, backed by a $300 million Uber investment, with plans to integrate 20,000 vehicles into Uber's platform over six years. |
| Read Here |
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