Graphite is the dominant anode material in lithium-ion batteries, and most of the world's graphite anode material is produced in China. For a producer building an integrated supply chain outside China, being able to credibly assess and communicate environmental performance is becoming an important differentiator with the customers and investors who are increasingly focused on this topic.

Syrah Resources owns and operates a globally significant natural graphite mining and processing operation at Balama, Mozambique, and is bringing an active anode material processing facility online at Vidalia, Louisiana, with the aim of becoming the first major integrated producer of graphite active anode material outside China. To support that position, Syrah needed to understand the impacts of its integrated supply chain and compare them against the alternatives.

Following an evaluation of numerous LCA consultants globally, Syrah engaged Minviro in 2021. The company's goals were threefold: to comprehensively assess the impacts of producing graphite concentrate at Balama and active anode material at Vidalia, to identify meaningful opportunities for abatement in its processes, and to compare its impacts against the production of alternative products in China. Minviro's unique expertise in understanding graphite supply chains, alongside its experience delivering ISO-compliant LCAs, suited Syrah's requirement for a robust, high-quality assessment and a defensible comparison.

The outcome was a fully critically reviewed, ISO-compliant LCA. Critical review matters: an externally reviewed assessment carries more weight with customers, investors and regulators than an internal calculation, because it has been independently checked for methodological soundness. The study met Syrah's goals and allowed the company to effectively communicate its environmental impacts to stakeholders who are increasingly focused on this critical topic.

As Viren Hira, General Manager of Business Development and Investor Relations at Syrah Resources, put it: "Minviro's expert team helped us to assess the various environmental impacts of the production of Syrah's natural graphite and graphite active anode material products, as well as benchmarking us against incumbent Chinese supply chains for alternative products, enabling the company to credibly position its products to target customers, investors and other stakeholders."

Syrah's experience reflects a wider shift in battery raw materials: as buyers and regulators focus more closely on embodied carbon, a critically reviewed LCA is becoming the way producers demonstrate a best-in-class approach and turn environmental performance into a credible commercial position.