EcoGraf Eyes German Site for 25,000tpa Acid-Free Battery Anode Plant
Key Takeaways
- EcoGraf is advancing a 25,000tpa HFfree® Battery Anode Material purification facility in Germany, with an on-the-ground site visit to its preferred location planned for October 2026.
- The European Investment Bank has awarded EcoGraf a grant of up to €2 million (A$3.2 million) to fund the market study underpinning the European site selection process.
- KfW Research has identified graphite purification and battery anode material production — precisely EcoGraf's technology focus — as critical vulnerabilities in Europe's industrial supply chain.
- Reference economics from a comparable U.S.-location facility show a pre-tax NPV10 of US$282 million, a 42% IRR, and US$42 million in annual EBITDA on US$95 million in capital investment, though these figures are not confirmed for the German project.
- EcoGraf's vertically integrated model spans from the Epanko Graphite Project in Tanzania through to downstream HFfree® purification, with strategic equity and offtake discussions advancing across multiple geographies.
EcoGraf advances German site for 25,000tpa HFfree® battery anode facility
EcoGraf is advancing the assessment of an industrial site in Germany for the development of a 25,000 tonne per annum (tpa) HFfree® Battery Anode Material (BAM) purification facility. The site selection process is being supported by German Government agencies including German Trade & Invest (GTAI), with the company planning an on-the-ground visit to its preferred German location in October 2026. The announcement reflects growing European support for secure and sustainable battery material supply chains, anchored by expanding manufacturing investment in neighbouring countries including Poland and Hungary.
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Why Germany, and why now
Germany’s geographic proximity to fast-growing battery and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing markets in Poland and Hungary makes it a strategically logical choice for a downstream graphite purification facility. European Commission policy initiatives are actively pushing to secure critical raw material supply chains, reducing the continent’s dependence on Chinese supply.
Independent validation for this direction comes from the recently released KfW Research Chartbook, which identifies graphite as one of the highest-risk raw materials for Europe’s industrial competitiveness, energy transition, and advanced technology sectors. Importantly, the KfW report notes that Europe’s vulnerability extends beyond graphite mining to include purification and battery anode material production — precisely where EcoGraf’s technology is positioned.
The European Commission and KfW both recognise that Europe currently lacks large-scale graphite purification capacity, a key bottleneck in establishing a competitive critical raw materials supply chain. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has already awarded EcoGraf a grant of up to €2 million (A$3.2 million) to fund the ongoing market study, further de-risking the European site selection process.
The European Investment Bank partnership reflects a broader institutional conviction that Europe must build sovereign graphite purification capacity, with the EIB grant designed to accelerate the market study underpinning EcoGraf’s site selection process.
Strategic and offtake discussions have also identified significant interest in producing high-purity industrial graphite, purified spherical graphite, and recycled battery anode material for European customers from the German facility.
Parallel site evaluation underway across Europe, Asia and the U.S.
While Germany is the current focus, EcoGraf is simultaneously evaluating locations in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. for a 25,000tpa HFfree® BAM facility. This parallel process signals that the company is preserving optionality across multiple geographies as it moves toward a final site decision.
What is HFfree® purification — and why does it matter for battery supply chains
EcoGraf’s HFfree® purification technology upgrades spherical graphite to 99.95%C high-performance battery anode material without using hydrofluoric acid (HF). Hydrofluoric acid is the conventional industry method for purifying graphite, but it is highly hazardous and increasingly scrutinised from both a regulatory and environmental standpoint.
This matters commercially. European regulatory pressure and customer ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) requirements are tightening, and a cleaner purification process is becoming a genuine point of differentiation rather than simply a sustainability aspiration.
The technology also extends into battery recycling. HFfree® purification can process recycled battery anode material, which adds a second demand channel beyond the primary production pathway and positions EcoGraf to participate in the growing circular battery economy in Europe.
Financial metrics and strategic progress
The economics referenced below are drawn from the previously disclosed metrics for a U.S.-location facility, published in the 13 August 2025 ASX announcement. They represent a preliminary assessment for a comparable location and are not confirmed figures for the proposed German facility. A facility in a comparable location is expected to deliver similar financial metrics, based on that preliminary assessment.
| Metric | Figure (USD) | Figure (AUD) | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated capital investment | US$95 million | — | Reported metrics, U.S. location |
| Pre-tax NPV10 | US$282 million | A$397 million | Reported metrics, U.S. location |
| IRR | 42% | — | Reported metrics, U.S. location |
| Annual EBITDA | US$42 million | — | Reported metrics, U.S. location |
| Purification operating costs | US$478/t | — | Reported metrics, U.S. location |
Source: ASX Announcement, 13 August 2025. These figures are reference metrics for a comparable facility only and are not confirmed German project economics.
Strategic equity and offtake discussions are advancing and are expected to support project funding, commercialisation, and expansion pathways across Asia and the U.S. EcoGraf’s broader model is vertically integrated: the Epanko Graphite Project in Tanzania provides upstream feedstock, a Mechanical Shaping Facility in Tanzania converts flake graphite into spherical graphite, and downstream HFfree® purification facilities — including the proposed German site — complete the mine-to-anode chain.
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What’s next for EcoGraf
Near-term milestones include:
- October 2026: On-the-ground visit to the preferred German site
- Completion of the EIB-funded market study
- Final site selection decision (timing not yet disclosed)
- Continued advancement of strategic equity and offtake discussions
The downstream opportunity identified through strategic discussions also reinforces the case for additional production capacity at the Epanko Graphite Project in Tanzania. Demand for a German HFfree® facility directly supports EcoGraf’s upstream mining business, linking the two ends of its vertically integrated strategy.
Epanko graphite offtake agreements with European partners reinforce the upstream demand case, linking Tanzania-sourced feedstock volumes directly to the customer commitments that underpin a commercially viable downstream purification facility in Germany.
Ready to Learn More About EcoGraf’s HFfree® Battery Anode Facility in Germany?
EcoGraf is positioning itself at the heart of Europe’s critical battery materials supply chain, backed by a €2 million EIB grant and a proprietary purification technology that eliminates hazardous hydrofluoric acid from the process.
Explore EcoGraf’s vertically integrated mine-to-anode strategy and the full investment case by visiting the EcoGraf profile on Discovery Alert, where you can track project milestones and strategic developments as they unfold.