Mercedes-Benz revealed its EQS SUV Tuesday, April 19, 2022, which will be manufactured in Alabama.

Construction is starting on a $202 million graphite processing plant in Coosa County that is the first of its kind in the U.S. and will provide a key component for electric vehicle batteries.

Westwater Resources and its subsidiary, Alabama Graphite Products, have begun building the plant in Kellyton, in the Lake Martin Regional Industrial Park off U.S. 280 near Alexander City. It is expected to hire at least 100 people and be operational by the second quarter of next year.

The plant will process raw graphite into about 7,500 metric tons of refined, battery-grade graphite each year, for use in batteries that power EVs, electronics and other products.

The project was announced last year, but with a smaller price tag. Refined graphite used in lithium-ion and other batteries is imported from China, which is one of the reasons why the U.S. government has declared graphite a critical strategic mineral.

According to Westwater Resources, batteries found in an average electric vehicle need about 175 to 200 pounds of graphite. There are currently no producers of natural-grade graphite in the U.S. for these products.

The plant also comes at a critical time for Alabama’s auto industry, as the companies with auto manufacturing plants here are embarking on their own plans for electric vehicles.

Gov. Kay Ivey, at a groundbreaking yesterday, said the plant will make Alabama “an even bigger player in the fast-growing electric vehicle sector.”

“It also creates jobs and will serve as a catalyst for economic development in the region, which my administration has worked tirelessly over the years to bring to the state,” Ivey said.

Chad Potter, president and CEO of Westwater Resources and Alabama Graphite Products, said the company will use a process that is safer and more environmentally friendly than the methods currently used in China.

The company plans to explore a graphite deposit in western Coosa County in the Alabama Graphite Belt. Westwater Resources acquired mineral rights to approximately 41,900 acres in 2018 and expects to begin mining operations by the end of 2028. Prior to that, the Kellyton plant will import feed graphite acquired from high-quality sources, the company said. There is currently no commercial-level graphite mining in the U.S.

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