Vidalia Active Anode Material Facility by Syrah Resources: status and timeline

Vidalia Active Anode Material Facility

Vidalia (11.25 kt/yr) converts Balama graphite into active anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the only vertically integrated supplier outside China. 45 kt/yr expansion planned with IRA tax credit.

DeployStage 4 of 5

11.25 kt/yr production ramping; commercial sales began Q4 2025; 45 kt/yr expansion pending FID.

Checked 10 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Final Investment Decision on 45 kt/yr expansion

Vidalia construction completed2023Complete.
Unpurified spherical graphite production beginsOct 2023Complete.
Purification and furnace commissioningJan 2024Complete.
First purified spherical graphite producedJan 2024Complete.
Commercial sales begin to tier-1 customersOct 2025Complete.
Final Investment Decision on 45 kt/yr expansionTarget 2027Not yet reached.
Expansion facility startupTarget 2028Not yet reached.

Upcoming

2027Final Investment Decision on 45 kt/yr expansion (next)
Q2 2027Balama production target of 200–240 kt/yr reached
2028Expansion facility startup

Current obstacles

Reaching full production rate consistentlyScaling from pilot volumes to 11.25 kt/yr and maintaining purity and particle spec while managing cost is the near-term challenge.
Competing on cost with Chinese anode makersChinese anode producers benefit from lower labor and energy costs; Vidalia must offset this with supply security and quality advantages.

Physics limits

Natural graphite supply is finiteNatural graphite deposits exist worldwide but are concentrated in a few countries (Brazil, Canada, Mozambique, Madagascar). High-quality flake graphite is scarce.
Graphite anode energy density limitsGraphite anodes store about 350 mAh/g of lithium. Silicon and lithium-metal anodes can store more, but they suffer from poor cycle life and cost challenges.

How it works

3 parts

Raw graphite supply

Natural graphite from Balama

Syrah mines natural graphite at Balama in Mozambique. Natural graphite has superior electrical and thermal properties versus synthetic graphite.

Spheronization

Particle shaping and sizing

Graphite is milled and shaped into uniform spherical particles. This improves packing density and electrical contact in anodes.

Purification

Impurity removal

Chemical and thermal purification steps remove iron and silica to meet specs. This creates 'active anode material' (AAM).

Spec sheet

Spec	Vidalia Active Anode Material Facility
Current annual capacity	11.25 kt/yr^R (reported)
Expansion capacity	45 kt/yr^R (reported)
Tesla offtake agreement volume	8 kt/yr^R (reported)
Total investment for 45 kt/yr expansion	>$586M^R (reported)
IRA tax credit secured	$165M^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

About Syrah Resources

The team behind Vidalia Active Anode Material Facility

Syrah Resources

Natural graphite, active anode material, battery supply

Syrah operates Balama graphite mine in Mozambique and Vidalia anode material facility in Louisiana. Vidalia (11.25 kt/yr, expanding to 45 kt/yr) is the only vertically integrated natural graphite anode supplier outside China.

Balama graphite mine in Mozambique targeting 200–240 kt/yr; Vidalia in Louisiana processes anode material.
Vidalia (11.25 kt/yr) is the only vertically integrated graphite anode supplier outside China.
Commercial sales began Q4 2025; $165M IRA tax credit secured in January 2025 for 45 kt/yr expansion.

syrahresources.com.au (opens syrahresources.com.au)Company profile →

Founded: 200719 yrs
Headquarters: Australia
Status: Public
Listed: SYRASX
Valuation: public
Works in: MaterialsBattery materials
Coverage: 1 program · 2 updateslatest 1 Jan 2025checked 10 Oct
Customers: Tesla (opens nsenergybusiness.com)

Spec

Vidalia Active Anode Material Facility

Current annual capacity

11.25 kt/yr^R (reported)

Expansion capacity

45 kt/yr^R (reported)

Tesla offtake agreement volume

8 kt/yr^R (reported)

Total investment for 45 kt/yr expansion

>$586M^R (reported)

IRA tax credit secured

$165M^R (reported)