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Building big battery packs for electric vehicles has long been the bottleneck to cheap and sustainable EVs. Some of the most problematic elements of EV batteries are lithium, cobalt, and graphite. But a New Zealand company claims it can make graphite from charcoal leftover from wood. Yup, scraps from the lumber industry could end up in EV battery anodes.

The graphite we use in most products–from pencils to EV battery anodes–is synthesized. But the current process relies heavily on fossil-fuel-based ingredients. The most common are coal tar pitch and petroleum coke.

These are byproducts from refining coal and oil, respectively. CarbonScrape CEO adds that the current process, “emits 35 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions for each tonne of graphite it produces.” That’s not great news if we’re trying to build “green” EVs.

CarbonScrape’s process is called thermo-catalytic graphitisation. It swaps that coal tar pitch or petroleum coke out for wood-based charcoal. Charcoal is made by heating wood without letting it catch fire. The result still contains most of the carbon sequestered by the original tree, and thus doesn’t release nearly as much CO2 into the atmosphere as burning the tree would have.

Sustainable graphite explained | CarbonScape via YouTube

So do we have enough wood to meet rising graphite demand? Absolutely. With just 10% of the wood scraps and chips the lumber industry is already tossing, CarbonScrape could meet 100% of the projected 2030 demand for graphite. That includes all the graphite needed for both EV batteries and power grid storage batteries.

Here’s the kicker: burning all those wood scraps and chips or even leaving them to rot releases CO2 into the atmosphere. So every ton of graphite produced for battery anodes via CarbonScrapes thermo-catalytic graphitisation process keeps 2.7 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

There’s a clear business benefit for this technology: a lucrative way for the lumber industry to dispose of discarded wood. And the process also stands to save EV battery manufacturers money. So it’s no surprise that Finnish-Swedish forestry firm Stora Enso and Hong Kong battery producer Amperex Technology Ltd have thrown $18 million in funding at CarbonScrape.

So your next electric vehicle battery may contain no coal or petroleum, but instead come from wood leftover from the lumber industry. Who woulda thunk?

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.