Recently, Stora Enso became a shareholder in a New Zealand-based start-up company CarbonScape who have developed sustainable anode materials for electrification. CarbonScape has developed carbon-negative biographite made from wood, engineered for use in lithium-ion batteries to replace mined graphite or fossil-based synthetic graphite. At up to 50% of the weight of the lithium-ion battery, graphite is the biggest component, with most of the world’s graphite being manufactured in China today. Biographite provides security of supply, with a possibility of localising production of this critical material to meet rapidly growing demand. Today, CarbonScape operates a biographite pilot plant in New Zealand, where the technology and product are being validated.
“CarbonScape’s biographite enables the establishment of localised battery supply chains from the ground up. If we are to truly move away from fossil carbon and power our economies through mass electrification, we urgently need sustainable alternatives like biographite to scale quickly,” says Ivan Williams, CEO of CarbonScape.
CarbonScape’s technology can be applied almost anywhere the feedstock is available, aiming at meeting the growing anode demand in Europe and North America, without the risk associated with a long, centralised supply chain. This fits perfectly with Stora Enso’s aim to secure Europe’s battery supply chain with fossil-free battery materials. Together with the wood-based hard carbon anode material, Lignode® by Stora Enso, biographite would form a product platform of local sustainable alternatives for current battery materials to meet the rapidly growing demand.
“Partnering with CarbonScape marks another step on our journey to develop the fast-growing battery market with sustainable, local materials made from trees. With this partnership, we are exploring a sustainable alternative for critical battery materials, creating a positive impact on society,” says Juuso Konttinen, Senior Vice President, Biomaterials Growth Businesses at Stora Enso.
Working together is crucial for making an impact in the world that needs more sustainable electrification. With CarbonScape, Stora Enso shares the high ambition of replacing fossil carbon with renewable carbon, creating a greener future for all.
