SOUTH KOREAN companies are rushing to buy more graphite from China before export controls on the electric vehicle (EV) battery ingredient take effect in December.

LG Energy Solution Ltd. said on an earnings call Wednesday that it will try and buy more graphite as soon as possible prior to the measures kicking in.

Posco Future M Co., a battery-electrode maker, is also making efforts to maintain “the proper levels of stockpiles” before the Dec. 1 deadline, it said.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said last Friday that it will place some types of graphite under export controls in order to safeguard national security.

While the curbs don’t necessarily mean shipments will be banned, the announcement unnerved EV makers given the country accounts for about 60% of world’s natural graphite production capacity and 90% for the synthetic variety.

The Chinese controls on graphite come happened just days after the Biden administration stepped up efforts to keep advanced chips out of China.

In August, China restricted exports of gallium and germanium, crucial to the semiconductor and telecommunications industries, before resuming some volumes the following month.

Gallium and germanium have jumped 20% to 30% since the restrictions, and it’s likely graphite prices could increase by a similar amount, said Steve Man, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.

South Korean battery manufacturers are heavily reliant on graphite imports. The country’s trade ministry said Monday it’s looking to African countries, including Mozambique and Tanzania, to address potential shortfalls of the material.

The ministry said it will also seek to bring forward the start of a domestic synthetic graphite factory scheduled to open next year. (SD-Agencies)