Tesla to source key battery component outside ChinaAP, LONDONTesla Inc is turning to Mozambique for a key component in its electric vehicle batteries in what analysts believe is a first-of-its-kind deal designed to reduce its dependence on China for graphite. Tesla is to buy the material from the company’s processing plant in Vidalia, Louisiana, which sources graphite from its mine in Balama, Mozambique. The battery industry has been confronted with a short supply of graphite in the past few months, Moores said. Graphite stores lithium inside a battery until it is needed to generate electricity by splitting into charged ions and electrons. Tesla is making almost 1 million electric vehicles per year and sourcing enough batteries is its biggest constraint, he said.

Source: Taipei Times January 17, 2022 22:02 UTC