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Graphene has long been heralded as a wonder material – almost from the time Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov used scotch tape to peel individual layers of the material off a chunk of graphite in 2004.  What sounds like a 6th Grade science fair experiment won the physicists the Nobel Prize in 2010.

In the dozen years since then, graphene has become one of the stars of nanotechnology, hailed for its ability to conduct electricity and exhibit exceptional durability and strength, according to the National Science Foundation.

However as Simon Moores, founder and CEO of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence predicted on the ARPN blog a decade ago, “the road to wide scale commercialization and unlocking the true potential of graphene” has been “long and hazardous.”

The challenges notwithstanding, the materials science revolution has marched on, and today, the graphene space is bustling.  One of the pioneers in graphene development as an early recipient of federal funding via National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants and U.S. Army SBIR contracts, Jessup, Maryland-based Vorbeck Materials Corp., currently holds more than 100 patents as its two primary graphene products, VOR-X and VOR-INK, find broad application in a variety of sectors and products.

And while it may well be a wonder material that can enhance innumerable applications ranging from “puncture-resistant footwear and wearable electronics to spray-on electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding for electronics and high-performance antennas,” as Shane Lasley writes for Metal Tech News, it is of course not “fairy dust.”

As ARPN has frequently outlined, you “need stuff to make stuff,” and graphene is derived from graphite – a critical mineral the market for which has long been dominated by China.

*** See some of our recent coverage of graphite’s supply challenges
and opportunities to alleviate them here and here.***

A just-announced partnership between Vorbeck Materials and Graphite One, Inc., owner of the Graphite Creek deposit near Nome, Alaska, recently recognized by the U.S. Geological Survey as the largest U.S. graphite deposit and among the largest in the world, could help change the narrative.

Vorbeck Materials is looking “to meet unique defense and commercial requirements with Graphite One’s high grade, US sourced graphite for advanced graphite and graphene applications.”  

At a time when geopolitical tensions are riding high, the partnership may represent an important piece of the puzzle as the U.S. and it Western allies continue step up their efforts to decouple from China.

The United States and the United Kingdom announced the launch of a new “Atlantic Declaration” earlier this month— a self-proclaimed “first of its kind” partnership “which will see our countries work together more closely than ever before across the full spectrum of our economic, technological, commercial and trade relations.”

At the heart of the compact is the mutual goal of reducing vulnerabilities across technology supply chains, developing technologies of the future, and strengthening investment one another’s industries.

On the critical minerals front, U.S. President Joe Biden committed to asking Congress to designate the United Kingdom a “domestic source” within the context of Title III of the Defense Production Act (currently, Canada stands alone as a “domestic source”), and both countries will promptly begin negotiations on a critical minerals agreement which would allow British firms to access tax credits available under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

While underscoring that the United States is serious about bolstering domestic supply chains by incentivizing investment in the critical minerals sector, the IRA had also sparked worries of a withdrawal of investment from manufacturers in nations that currently do not have a free trade agreement with the United States.

Under the terms of the to-be-finalized deal between the U.S. and the UK, British electric car manufacturers would be eligible to 50% of the tax credits available to U.S. companies under the IRA, according to Politico.

Globally, the IRA has prompted a flurry of activity, including the European Union’s response to the United States’ IRA in March of this year: the recently-dropped Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) paired with sister legislation, the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), which aims to support investment in manufacturing capacity in ‘net zero emissions’ technologies in Europe.

(Read ARPN’s discussion of the EU’s response to the IRA here.)

Only days later, the United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Japan’s Ambassador to the United States, Tomita Koji, signed a critical minerals agreement (“Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America on Strengthening Critical Minerals Supply Chains”) which builds on the 2019 U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement and seeks to strengthen and diversify critical minerals supply chains and promote the adoption of electric vehicle battery technologies.

The U.S.-UK agreement is the latest in this series of negotiations, but it is likely not the last. As the push to decouple supply chains from adversaries like China and leverage greater cooperation among like-minded allies continues, ARPN will follow closely to document these developments.

Resource nationalism has arrived in Africa. After Zimbabwe banned lithium ore exports last December in a move that only permits concentrates to be shipped out, Namibia has banned the export of unprocessed lithium and other critical minerals, according to Reuters. The country is largely known as a source for uranium, but also has significant deposits of lithium [...]

In their quest to secure critical mineral supply chains against the backdrop of surging demand and rising geopolitical pressures, stakeholders are leaving no stone unturned – quite literally — and have in fact begun turning the same stone twice. As Australia’s Financial Post reports, the Australian government has completed a mapping project of sites containing mine [...]

As Memorial Day heralds the unofficial beginning of the summer travel season, ARPN has a suggestion to make to pass the time whether you’re gridlocked on the interstate or airport security:  Check out a podcast called “Battery Metals – A Nickel for Your Thoughts.” Too wonky?  Who cares?  That’s what earbuds are for – no one has to [...]

Against the backdrop the accelerating global push toward net zero carbon emissions and escalating tensions, worries about strategic vulnerabilities and the specter of supply chain disruptions have prompted the United States and its allies to forge new alliances designed to bolster supply chain security – and, to the extent possible, decouple their critical mineral supply [...]

Even before the Biden Administration announced the “most aggressive” plan to curb tailpipe emissions to date with new vehicle pollution standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month, automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers were facing difficulties getting both the parts and raw materials needed for their electric vehicle (EV) components. The newly proposed rules [...]

If history holds one important lesson for us, it’s that most things in life are cyclical. Low tide and high tide, ups and downs, times of war, times of peace.  What holds true on a personal level, also applies to bigger fields like economics. As value investor and author Howard Marks phrased it: “Mechanical things can go [...]

Against the backdrop of the accelerating global push to net zero carbon emissions, a volatile overall geopolitical climate and a new EPA proposal to tighten tailpipe emission standards U.S. stakeholders are looking for ways to secure critical mineral supply chains. The expectation is that with the proposed EPA rules requiring automakers to reduce carbon emissions [...]

Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s April announcement of his plan to nationalize the country’s lithium industry to boost the Latin American nation’s industrial base and protect the environment may have prompted observers to declare his action a “shock move,” but as ARPN outlined in our last post, the “shock seems to result from global observers who are still learning to [...]