Macro photo of a raw graphite crystal on black

Carbion

Bringing abundance to critical materials.

Battery-grade graphite, made from waste — not mined from the ground.

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Battery-grade graphite · made in the USA

Recharge domestic
manufacturing.

We turn abundant biomass waste — sawdust, nutshells, agricultural residue — into battery-grade graphite. Onshoring a critical mineral supply chain that clean energy depends on.

See how it works hello@carbion.xyz

½ the temperature 10× faster Carbon neutral Superior to benchmark

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The graphite problem

Graphite is a critical material in lithium-ion batteries — in our phones, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems. As the world builds more batteries, we are going to need significantly more battery-grade graphite.

But the material at the center of clean energy is still produced through a supply chain built for the past. Today, there are essentially only two ways to produce battery-grade graphite: mine it from the ground and heavily process it, or manufacture it from fossil-derived materials using extremely high temperatures. More than 90% of battery-grade graphite processing is concentrated in China.

As battery demand grows, the challenge is clear — we need a new way to produce graphite, without scaling mining, fossil-based manufacturing, or dependence on a concentrated foreign supply chain. At Carbion, we've proved there is a better way.

0×Projected surge in graphite demand by 2040 as battery manufacturing scales

0%+Of battery-grade graphite processing concentrated in a single country

0Tons of CO₂ released for every ton of graphite produced today

0%Of a battery's total manufacturing emissions — graphite is the single largest material contributor

2025$20B

2030$40B

2040$100B

What Carbion replaces

1A — Mining

Open-pit mines. Scarred earth.

Most natural graphite is strip-mined overseas, then shipped across oceans — a slow, land-intensive supply chain with a heavy carbon footprint.

1B — Synthetic process

Fossil fuel. 3,000°C. Days in the furnace.

The synthetic alternative bakes petroleum coke at extreme temperatures for days — one of the most energy-hungry steps in the entire battery supply chain.

2 — Graphite

Battery-grade graphite. Environmentally disastrous.

Either path still produces graphite that meets spec — but at the cost of scarred land, heavy emissions, and a supply chain concentrated overseas.

The traditional graphite workflow: open-pit mining and fossil-fueled synthetic processing, both producing high emissions, high water consumption, resource depletion, and geopolitical dependence

The Carbion way

01 — Waste

We start with what's already here.

Sawdust, nutshells, spent coffee grounds, paper and plastic waste — domestic, abundant, and otherwise discarded.

02 — Process

A faster, more efficient reaction — made in the USA.

Our patented catalytic process runs at roughly half the temperature of conventional graphitization, and up to ten times faster.

03 — Graphite

Battery-grade. Carbon neutral. Superior to the benchmark.

The result meets or exceeds commercial specs — carbon neutral, cheaper, cleaner, and made entirely in the USA.

Carbion's waste-to-graphite workflow set against a natural, sustainable backdrop

Feedstock

Waste is our raw material.

Domestic waste streams, engineered into battery-grade graphite.

SawdustSawmill byproduct, abundant across US forestry

Spent coffee groundsPost-consumer waste from cafés and roasters

Paper wasteFiber-rich cellulose from packaging & towels

Plastic wasteHard-to-recycle streams, diverted from landfill

NutshellsWalnut, almond, and other hard shell residue

PetcokeRefinery byproduct, an alternative carbon feedstock

+ additional agricultural residue streams, sourced through our supply partners.

Technology

We make battery-grade graphite from waste.

Instead of starting with a mine or a fossil-derived feedstock, we start with abundant biomass waste — materials like nutshells, sawdust, and agricultural residues.

Our proprietary catalytic process transforms that carbon into the crystalline graphite structure batteries require — at roughly half the temperature of conventional graphitization, and up to ten times faster. We're not asking battery manufacturers to adopt a new chemistry. We're producing the graphite they already need — from waste, through a more efficient, domestically scalable process.

Catalyst recovery

InputBiomass

PrecursorCarbon

OutputGraphite

½ temp

Lower energy cost, lower CapEx and OpEx.

10× faster

Than incumbent technologies — higher throughput.

Carbon neutral

Using abundant, renewable carbon-sink feedstocks.

Why Carbion wins

Cheaper, cleaner, and built to scale.

Lower cost than overseas imports, before tariffs

Geopolitical risk & tariff uncertainty — 100% domestic

Less carbon emissions for battery manufacturing

Battery-grade graphite	Carbion Biomass & other carbonaceous waste	Natural graphite Graphite mines	Synthetic graphite Petroleum coke	CO₂ upcycling Molten salt	Methane pyrolysis Gas reaction
Geographic risk	Low	High	High	Low	Low
Scalability	High	High	High	Low	Medium
Carbon footprint (t CO₂/t)	~0	10	20	~0	~5

Company

New York–built.

Yang Zhong

Co-Founder & CEO

Omer Caylan

Co-Founder & CTO

Chris Abram

Head of Product

Maggie Huang

Chief of Staff

Ramu Banavath

Founding Research Engineer

Advisors: Dr. Evelyn N. Wang, Andrew Chang, Juan Inga.

R&D partners — New York City

Downstate Health Sciences UniversityColumbia Nano InitiativeASRC CATNewlab

We operate our R&D with independent testing labs and industry partners.

News & milestones

Recent progress.

2025

Third-party testing confirms battery-grade performance

Independent labs verified our graphite meets battery-grade specifications.

Apr 2025

Patent filed

Protecting the core catalytic process behind our graphite.

2024

$300K Activate Fellowship awarded

Non-dilutive grant funding to support our R&D.

Get in touch

Let's rebuild the graphite
supply chain — domestically.

Battery manufacturers, feedstock suppliers, and investors — we'd like to hear from you.

hello@carbion.xyz