Graphite prices have experienced volatility recently due to bottlenecks in demand for electric vehicles (EVs).
One major factor experts are watching right now is the trade war between China and the United States. China’s export restrictions on certain graphite products took effect on December 1, 2023, and require Chinese exporters to apply for special permits to ship the material to global markets.
In May 2024, the US under the Biden administration announced it would raise tariffs on foreign EVs and batteries. “The tariff rate on natural graphite and permanent magnets will increase from zero to 25 percent in 2026,” the statement reads. “The tariff rate for certain other critical minerals will increase from zero to 25 percent in 2024.” With tariff-loving President Donald Trump set to take the reins in January 2025, market watchers believe those tariffs could become even harsher.
These dynamics will likely encourage the development of more ex-China graphite supply sources.
Another trend shaping this market in 2024 has been the increasing substitution of natural graphite with synthetic in battery anode production in response to Chinese exports restrictions and US tariffs on natural graphite. This has led to much lower prices for natural graphite this year.
Against that backdrop, many Canadian graphite stocks have trended downward in 2024. However, several graphite-focused companies have seen strong performances this year.
Below is a look at the year’s best-performing graphite stocks on the TSX, TSXV and CSE. Data was obtained on November 29, 2024, using TradingView’s stock screener, and all companies listed had market caps above C$10 million at that time. Read on to learn more about their work this year.
1. HydroGraph Clean Power (CSE:HG)
Year-to-date gain: 75 percent
Market cap: C$38.95 million
Share price: C$0.175
HydroGraph Clean Power produces cost-effective, high purity graphene, hydrogen and other strategic nano-materials. Graphene is a pure carbon material extracted from graphite. It has a myriad of potential applications in many industries, such as transport, solar cells, medicine, electronics, energy, defense and desalination.
HydroGraph has an exclusive license from Kansas State University to produce both graphene and hydrogen through their patented detonation process.
The company’s achievements through the year have had a positive impact on its share price. In April, Hydrograph inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Khalifa University of Science and Technology’s Research and Innovation Center in Graphene and 2D Materials in the United Arab Emerits to develop and commercialize graphene applications in cement, concrete, lubricants and energy storage and composites.
That same month, the company announced that its flagship graphene product, FGA-1, was chosen by hardware company Volfpack Energy to be the base material of its supercapacitor technology aimed at increasing the adoption of renewable energy across Asia.
In the following month, HydroGraph secured another strategic MoU, this time with Gulf Cryo, which provides industrial, medical and specialty gas solutions in the Middle East and Africa region.
Shares of Hydrograph more than doubled during this time period to a year-to-date high of C$0.20 for the first time on May 17. The company went on to close on an oversubscribed private placement totaling C$3.6 million in mid-June.
Although Hydrographs stock price dipped back into the C$0.10 to C$0.12 range for much of the third quarter, the company had a series of new flow for the fall that has pushed its value back in range with its high for the year.
In late October, Hydrograph extended its nanomaterials research partnership with the University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre. The following week, the company announced the partners had made an important breakthrough with the discovery that its FGA-1 graphene product increased performance in bottles with reduced use of non-recycled plastic in the global polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging industry.
On November 20, Hydrograph received a purchase order for research quantities of four novel graphene products from a global automotive industry customer. Automotive composites represent a significant growth market for graphene. This was followed soon after by the announcement of new collaborations with Volfpack Energy and NEI, a supplier of specialty materials to the battery industry.
2. Zentek (TSXV:ZEN)
Year-to-date gain: 13.01 percent
Market cap: C$174.83 million
Share price: C$1.65
Zentek is a technology company developing graphene-based products for commercial partners. The cornerstone of its intellectual property portfolio is its patented technology platform ZenGUARD which has displayed 99 percent effective antimicrobial properties, significantly increasing the viral filtration efficiency for surgical masks. The company is working to incorporate this technology into HVAC systems. In addition, Zentek fully owns the rights to the Albany graphite deposit in Ontario, Canada, through its subsidiary Albany Graphite.
The company’s year-to-date high share price came early in the year at C$2.11 on January 8, before it embarking on a slow but steady declining trend for much of the year. This was despite positive news flow including a distribution agreement with DCL Supply for ZenGuard enhanced air filters; the granting of second US patent for the active graphene-based ingredient in its ZenGuard products; the achievement of 99.99915 percent purity for a graphite sample from the Albany graphite deposit; and the release of positive preliminary battery results coinciding with the expansion of a research collaboration with the University of Toronto.
However, Zentek’s share price took a turn for the better in the fourth quarter of the year, rising to as high as C$1.79 on November 18. This followed news of increasing demand for ZenGuard antimicrobial surgical masks following a Canada-wide sampling program among dental professionals.
3. Black Swan Graphene (TSXV:SWAN)
Year-to-date gain: 6.25 percent
Market cap: C$14.4 million
Share price: C$0.085
Black Swan Graphene describes itself as an emerging powerhouse in the bulk graphene business.
The company is a spinout of Mason Resources (TSXV:LLG,OTCQX:MGPHF), which owns the Uatnan graphite project in Québec and holds a 39 percent stake in Black Swan. Graphite from Uatnan is used to supply Black Swan.
UK-based global chemicals manufacturer Thomas Swan & Co. holds a 15 percent interest in Black Swan, and brings a portfolio of patents and intellectual property related to graphene production. Through this partnership, Black Swan is building out a fully integrated supply chain from mine to graphene products.
Black Swan’s share price so far this year has benefited from the launch of a number of new graphene products, such as its GraphCore 01 family of graphene nanoplatelets products. Announced in April, these products include powders and polymer-ready masterbatches designed for the polymer industry.
Shares of Black Swan reached their highest year-to-date price of C$0.15 on June 19 following the announcement of a commercial partnership with advanced materials engineering company Graphene Composites. It will see Black Swan’s graphene used in the fabrication of GC Shield, a patented ballistic protection technology.
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.