In March, Graphite One, a company based in Canada that’s attempting to develop a complete domestic U.S. supply chain for advanced graphite materials, announced plans to build a

$435 million plant in Weathersfield to produce graphite material crucial for making batteries for electric vehicles.

A subsidiary of Graphite One, Graphite One (Alaska), signed a 50-year lease on 85 acres at the site — the former Defense National Stockpile Center, now known as the Warren Tech Park, on Warren Avenue.

At full capacity, the plant could produce 100,000 tons of anode material per year. In the beginning, the facility would employ about 175 people and as it reaches that 100,000-ton capacity, it would employ about 625 people, according to Mike Schaffner, senior vice president of operations for Graphite One.

Given the number of jobs the new facility would bring to the area and the crucial role the plant could play in the production of EV batteries, the possibility of the project is an exciting one. However, we feel as though the project should be approached with tempered expectations as there are still several obstacles that must be overcome.

Schaffner, in a conversation with Business Editor Ron Selak Jr., said the company plans to begin in 2026 if all goes as planned. The company is still considering financing options, which will dictate how fast the facility is built.

Other obstacles the company must overcome include working with environmental consultants to determine the exact permitting for the site and completing a feasibility design, which will be submitted with the permits.

“As you would expect all air and water emissions need to be modeled and pollution control designs must be submitted to obtain operational permit,” Schaffner stated in a recent email with this newspaper.

Along with that, Graphite One also must complete a feasibility study to determine the economics of the facility. Once all of that is completed, or if it is completed, Schaffner said the first tier of the plant should be able to produce 25,000 tons of finished anode material per year by late 2026. That number will eventually grow to 100,000 tons when the facility is running at full capacity.

Considering Kimberly-Clark’s recent purchase of about 560 acres that was the former RG Steel near where Graphite One wants to build its plant, it’s surely an exciting time. The two major projects were announced in the past six months and could play a major part in the revitalization of the area.

We are just as ecstatic as you, but we must preach patience and tempered expectations in the situation, as there is still a lot of work to be done between now and then. If everything falls into place though, it will surely be fruitful for the area, and we hope that’s the case.

editorial@vindy.com