WEATHERSFIELD TWP., Ohio - The site of a proposed graphite processing plant in Weathersfield Township is still quiet but the commitment to the valley is moving forward.

Graphite One is securing a permit and finishing designs for a plant to create artificial graphite through a conversion process. The site will first see a finishing and blending facility. After that they’ll slowly add graphitization plants one by one. 

“As you build the first one you develop your customer base, you then are consuming all of your products and then you build the next one,” Mike Schaffner, the Chief Operating Officer of Graphite One said. 

The final expectation is to have four graphitization plants that will produce a total of 100,000 tons of product a year. The product could start shipping by 2027 nationwide for customers to use in Electric Vehicle batteries. 

Local economic leaders are staying cautious the project will come until a shovel is officially in the ground but feels the success of securing big companies like Kimberly Clark push the possibility in the right direction.

“We are a business friendly community where they can have a very good ease of process …that all sends a really positive message because they do pay very close attention to things like that,” Guy Coviello, the President & CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber said. 

If the site reaches success with the artificial graphite then the company is considering more operations here. A mine in Alaska is expected to be functioning by 2030 and the company would need a place to send those natural earth minerals for processing. 

“That's still to be determined,” Schaffner said. “We have to find additional space.”

Schaffner said construction for the finishing and blending facility is expected to start in six to nine months and will bring about two dozen jobs.

The total cost for the project is more than a billion dollars. When all phases are completed the site will have 88 buildings and more than 150 jobs.