Tirupati Graphite PLC (LON:TGR) said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Hanwa Co. Ltd, a major Japanese global trading and investment company, to expand markets for its flake and speciality graphite products in the Far East.
The London-listed company said it and Hanwa have already identified various prospective buyers in the Far East and that initial discussions with prospective buyers have resulted in extensive interest in Tirupati’s products.
Hanwa is one of the larger traders of battery chemicals and steel products in the Asian region and has number of investments in battery metals projects.
Tirupati is looking to establish new markets to build its position as a key supplier of high-value flake graphite products to fast-growing sectors, such electric vehicles (EV), expandable graphite markets and industrial applications.
"Given the East Asian markets are primarily international trading houses driven, we are delighted to have signed an MoU with Hanwa, which will significantly progress our marketing efforts in this important region,” said Tirupati chief executive Shishir Poddar.
“The Far East hosts extensive industrial and speciality graphite markets, which imports almost all of its graphite primarily from China. However, lithium-ion battery and its anode manufacturers are increasingly looking at the green credentials of their supply chain as well as diversification away from Chinese sources, which is where we can step in.
“We therefore look forward to working with Hanwa's dedicated team, which has strong relationships with some of the largest graphite users and to penetrate and lay the foundations for the development of markets for our suite of graphite products in the Far East.
"The shift to a global green economy continues to accelerate with the EV revolution going up a gear, which is having a significant impact on demand for battery raw materials; this is something we have seen happening over the past few months.
“As our production and manufacturing operations expand, the company is well positioned to support the increasing demand and we are fast realising our objective of becoming a key contributor in the global drive to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by the middle of this century."