DoE supports Cabot battery expansion

Cabot has received a modified $50 million grant from the US Department of Energy's (DoE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy to part-fund the expanded production of advanced conductive additives at two of its sites. The company itself will put in the remaining $75 million 

Boston-based Cabot will produce LITX advanced battery-grade conductive carbons at Franklin, Louisiana, and will establish the first commercial-scale production of carbon nanostructures, its most advanced conductive additive technology, at Pampa, Texas. Both projects are expected to be operational by the end of 2028.

The materials will go into battery materials to applications energy storage, grid modernisation, electrification, as well as meeting growing power needs from AI infrastructure and data centres. CEO Sean Keohane called the investment as “an important step in our strategy to build a differentiated battery materials business that supports some of the most significant growth trends shaping the global economy”.

Cabot claims to be “the only global player with a comprehensive product portfolio of additive materials for battery applications”. These include conductive additives, fumed metal oxides for cathode, separator and electrolyte stability, and aerogel for cell barriers to mitigate thermal runaway.