As part of the BGV Graphite pilot project, implemented by Gennadii Butkevych’s BGV Group Management company, a research sample of anode material for a lithium-ion battery was tested. The electrochemical performance of the sample met top global standards. The anode was produced from spherical graphite processed from enriched concentrate sourced at the Balakhivske deposit in Ukraine’s Kirovohrad region. The spherification process took place in October 2024 at the facilities of the German company NETZSCH.

The anode material sample was produced at the Department of Chemical Technologies and Resource Saving at Kyiv National University of Technology and Design. The research team used a standard lithium coin cell—measuring 20 mm in diameter and 1.6 mm thick—commonly employed in laboratory settings to test new anode and cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. These coin cells enable researchers to assess the electrochemical properties of materials before scaling up for mass production.

“We are steadily advancing toward establishing a complete lithium-ion battery production chain in Ukraine—from raw material extraction to manufacturing power cells. Our current laboratory testing marks a critical technological milestone. The next phase will be developing a full-scale two-electrode battery prototype, which we plan to produce in the fall of 2025 using graphite sourced by BGV,” Victor Tanai, head of the BGV Graphite project, notes.