WARREN, Ohio – Graphite One Inc. announced Thursday that it received amended, nonbinding letters of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States that would increase the bank’s potential financing of its proposed projects in Weathersfield Township and Alaska.
The previously issued letter of interest to finance the company’s Graphite Creek Project north of Nome, Alaska, is upsized from $570 million to $670 million, while the letter for its advanced graphite materials manufacturing plant planned for Weathersfield Township in Trumbull County is upsized from $325 million to $1.4 billion, with a repayment tenor of 15 years under the Export-Import Bank’s Make More in America Initiative, according to a news release.
The upsizing of the letter of interest for the Weathersfield Township facility “will support a phased increase in production capacity in 25,000 metric ton increments to an annual production rate of 100,000 metric tons of anode active material,” the release states. The bank’s combined letters of interest for the company’s “100% U.S.-based supply chain solution now total $2.07 billion.”
In March 2024, Graphite One announced plans to invest $435 million to develop a synthetic and natural graphite production facility on land in Weathersfield Township near the proposed Kimberly-Clark site. The land was once used as a minerals and munitions depot for the U.S. Department of Defense. The plant would be used to produce anodes – or negatively charged material that is found in batteries and other energy storage devices.
A feasibility study released earlier this year recommends the Ohio project be built out in seven phases to align with demand and to reduce capital risks. Once built out, the entire project’s capital investment in Weathersfield would stand at approximately $3.9 billion.
The company wants to complete the Weathersfield plant first and begin operations there by 2028, according to the study.
According to the news release, the bank would loan 70% of the total capital cost for the projects. Graphite One remains in discussions with various U.S. departments “for coordinated participation to complete project financing” and with the top five investment banks in North America to finance the remaining 30% of capital costs.
The increases were made after a meeting between John Jovanovic, president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank board of directors, and Graphite One CEO Anthony Huston at the bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“Graphite One is building America’s graphite supply chain from the ground up – from the largest natural graphite deposit in the country in Alaska, to processing facilities in Ohio,” Jovanovic said. “This is exactly the kind of project President [Donald] Trump’s agenda demands: securing critical minerals, revitalizing American manufacturing capacity, and helping support the jobs of the future across our great country.”
Graphite One expects to submit a formal application to the Export-Import Bank under both letters of interest in 2026, according to the release. Upon receipt, the bank will conduct all necessary due diligence to determine if a final commitment may be issued for the transaction.
Any final commitment is subject to the bank’s eligibility, credit and approval requirements and satisfaction of terms and conditions and must comply with its policies as well as program, legal and eligibility requirements.
“All of us at [Graphite One] are so appreciative of the support we are receiving from EXIM under the leadership of Chairman Jovanovic,” Huston said. “There is no reason the U.S. should be dependent on foreign-sourced graphite when we have a generational resource in Graphite Creek anchoring a 100% U.S.-based advanced graphite materials supply chain.”
The meeting took place on the final day of Huston’s Washington meetings at the White House as well as with multiple federal departments and senior U.S. government officials formulating critical mineral policy.
Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Youngtown/Warren Regional Chamber, hailed the development but cautioned that more work remains to be done.
“We have had a really good experience working with Anthony Huston and his team at [Graphite One]. Our Government Affairs division has worked alongside [Graphite One] in D.C. for several years now,” Coviello said in a statement issued following the company’s news release.
“[Graphite One] has been receptive to meeting small and micro businesses in the region so that our local companies have supply chain and procurement opportunities should this project move forward,” he continued. “Hopefully, we can soon welcome another good corporate citizen into our community.”
Pictured at top: The site of the proposed Graphite One project in Weathersfield Township.