Life Cycle Assessment of NMG’s Graphite Advanced Materials Confirm Minimal Environmental Footprint

Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. has received the results of an independently conducted cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (“LCA”) for its portfolio of graphite-based materials, confirming the minimal and industry-leading environmental footprint of its production. NMG’s full commercial-scale Phase-2 all-electric facilities are forecasted to produce coated spherical purified graphite (“CSPG”) – anode material for lithium-ion batteries – with a Global Warming Potential (“GWP”) of 1.23 kg CO₂ equivalent per kg, an impact up to 11 times smaller than that of benchmarked production.

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“these supplementary analyses and literature review show how the technology efficiency, energy grid mix and methodological issues have an influence over the lifecycle performance of natural graphite-based products.”

As demand for batteries attains unprecedented levels, so does the demand for minerals and advanced materials that enter their manufacturing. Graphite is the main component of battery anodes, making up ±95% of their composition across all lithium-ion battery chemistries. To ensure the production of ecological electric vehicles (“EV”), clean technologies and electronics, manufacturers necessitate responsibly extracted, environmentally transformed and ethically sourced materials.

Arne H Frandsen, Chair of NMG, commented: “From responsible mining to eco-friendly advanced manufacturing, NMG is committed to providing the marketplace with a transparent, reliable and scalable supply of high-purity graphite materials. Positive results from the LCA confirm the environmental performance of our planned operations, processes and proprietary technologies, and further strengthen our ESG credentials. The conclusions bolster NMG’s competitive edge as battery and EV manufacturers, regulators, and consumers push for holistically sustainable solutions.”

NMG mandated CT Consultant, an LCA practitioner, to carry out the LCA for its portfolio of graphite-based materials to obtain an independent assessment as it advances commercial discussions. Results confirm the low environmental impact of NMG’s products, thus supporting customers’ search for sources that reduce their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions and comply with increasingly stringent regulations. The study also provides insight to strengthen the Company’s environmental efforts, continuous improvement and climate action.

Eric Desaulniers, Founder, President, and CEO of NMG, added: “Clean technologies are very mineral- and energy-intensive. Yet, we have now demonstrated that batteries can be assembled with environmentally-responsible materials. Our commitment to all-electric operations and responsible production is reaffirmed with these results that position both Québec’s hydropower grid and NMG’s proprietary technologies as catalysts for low-footprint manufacturing. We are committed to seeking opportunities to enhance the properties of our battery materials, optimize technological solutions, reduce our footprint, improve our products’ life cycle, and develop recycling processes to help power global decarbonization.”

LCA Methodology and Results

Delving into the projected production system of NMG’s fully vertically integrated value chain, the study examined the impacts on climate change, freshwater acidification, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, photochemical oxidant formation and ozone layer depletion of five graphite-based products – graphite concentrate, spherical graphite, spherical purified graphite, CSPG, purified jumbo flakes – and one co-product as per the IMPACT World+ methodology.

The LCA established an inventory of flows to and from nature by combining primary and secondary data collected for each process within NMG’s operating model. The inventory data was converted into environmental impacts using characterization factors from an established impact assessment method. The ISO 21930 standard was used for the distribution of impacts per life cycle stage. Results were benchmarked, and sensitivity and data quality analyses were performed. The modelling and analysis were verified by an independent consultant. The LCA complies with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 requirements.

Conclusions demonstrate that NMG’s planned all-electric operations powered by renewable energy combined with clean processing technologies are set to generate advanced materials with an exceptionally low GWP, in line with global decarbonization efforts.

Integrated into the report is a benchmarking exercise conducted by Minviro, an LCA and sustainability consultant in the battery material space, comparing the footprint of CSPG from natural graphite along three production routes.

The LCA also examined a hypothetical scenario with NMG’s production system parameters transposed in North-East China, where a large part of graphite-based products is manufactured, to evaluate the impact of Québec’s electricity grid mix on the environmental footprint of the Company’s products. In this assessment, NMG’s CSPG presents lower impact scores across all environmental categories compared to CSPG that would be manufactured in China with the same extraction, concentration and processing technologies. Freshwater acidification and terrestrial acidification categories are approximately 19 times smaller, photochemical oxidant formation and climate change are approximately 16 times smaller, while freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication and ozone layer depletion impacts are approximately up to twice smaller.

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In its report, CT Consultant noted that “these supplementary analyses and literature review show how the technology efficiency, energy grid mix and methodological issues have an influence over the lifecycle performance of natural graphite-based products.” Indeed, NMG’s choice of adopting all-electric technologies, from mining to advanced manufacturing, is set to help significantly reduce the environmental footprint of its products across their whole life cycle. Moreover, the Company’s proprietary thermochemical purification technology that avoids acid leaching, along with its climate action initiatives that aim at reducing embedded emissions, play a significant role in limiting the environmental impacts of its integrated value chain.

Market Implications and Commercial Engagement

Results from the LCA complement the technical specifications of NMG’s advanced materials and provide information to customers, investors and stakeholders on the climate risk of products. The exercise further confirms the advantage of natural graphite over synthetic graphite, a material produced from petroleum byproducts and coal tar carrying a heavy carbon footprint.

The low environmental footprint of NMG’s graphite-based materials aligns with international efforts to drive greater sustainability, transparency and circularity into the battery sector. Indeed, from the Global Battery Alliance’s effort to develop a Battery Passport to the European Commission’s proposed updated Battery Directive that would require labelling of batteries to disclose their carbon footprint, the market is shifting to encourage and eventually potentially require low-carbon products. The European Union, which already set GHG emissions limit for EVs and industrial batteries, rallied last month behind a deadline on combustion engine production by 2035 as it steps up the fight against climate change through faster adoption of EVs.

Hence, NMG intends to leverage the positive LCA results in current and future commercial discussions. To that effect, representatives of the Company’s executive and technical teams will be present at The Battery Show North America on September 13-15, 2022, booth 1629, to meet key industry players, promote NMG’s green product portfolio and examine some of the latest technologies.

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