Focus says Lac Knife material passes validation testing

Executive Summary

• Focus Graphite’s Lac Knife natural graphite anode material has successfully passed Phase I battery validation testing conducted by independent U.S. laboratories Charge CCCV LLC (C4V) and American Energy Technologies Company (AETC).
• The material demonstrated near-theoretical electrochemical capacity (~371 mAh/g), confirming high purity and suitability for lithium-ion battery anode applications, surpassing C4V’s internal baseline qualification thresholds.
• C4V has advanced the material to Phase II of its qualification program, which involves pouch-cell fabrication and large-format validation for commercial-scale evaluation, with plans for further large-format testing with AETC.

Key Details

• Testing Partners: Concurrent, independent tests conducted by Charge CCCV LLC (C4V) and American Energy Technologies Company (AETC).
• Material Performance:
  • Achieved first-cycle discharge capacity of approximately 373 milliampere-hours per gram (mAh/g), essentially reaching the theoretical maximum for graphite.
  • Demonstrated high purity, crystallinity, and strong suitability for lithium-ion battery anode applications.
  • Exceeded C4V’s internal baseline qualification thresholds despite minor variations in coin-cell assembly and laboratory calibration.
• Comparison: Under identical test conditions, Focus's natural graphite (lot No. GN250619002) was compared against C4V's baseline synthetic graphite reference material. While electrode density and long-cycle performance were modestly lower than the baseline, the material surpassed qualification benchmarks.
• Next Steps (Phase II):
  • Pouch-cell fabrication and large-format validation by C4V.
  • Long-term cycling and safety validation under C4V's Digital DNA (DDNA) qualification program.
  • Scaling to large-format cell testing with industry partners for commercial qualification.
  • Parallel exploration of additional large-format testing initiatives with AETC to assess scalability and performance consistency.
• Strategic Context: Results support future offtake qualification and commercial evaluation, reinforcing Focus Graphite's commitment to establishing a North American supply of high-performance, ESG-compliant graphite anode material for EV and energy storage system (ESS) applications.

Notable Quotes

• Dean Hanisch, CEO, Focus Graphite: "These results validate the quality of our Lac Knife graphite and its suitability for next-generation anode production... Having both AETC and C4V confirm the material's strong performance gives us confidence as we move into pouch-cell testing -- the next step toward commercial readiness."
• Baasit Ali, VP, Supply Chain, C4V: "C4V is pleased to see Focus Graphite's Lac Knife material successfully complete our phase I validation process under our DDNA program... The material has demonstrated strong electrochemical validation and purity characteristics that align well with our high-performance anode requirements."