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A plan has been hatched to expand and diversify critical mineral supply chains globally for the booming EV battery industry – will it work?

There’s an urgent need for critical minerals to meet the growing demand for EV batteries, battery storage, and more. Electrek spoke with John DeMaio, CEO of EV battery mineral processor Graphex Technologies, about how mineral mining and processing is being ramped up and why it’s a vital part of the EV revolution.

Electrek: Why do we need to expand and diversify critical mineral supply chains?

For battery storage, EVs, and semiconductors. EV batteries need more of certain “critical minerals.” The top five for lithium-ion batteries are lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite.

There currently aren’t enough operational mines for these critical minerals for a robust EV battery supply chain. We also need to expand critical mineral processing and recycling capacity.

We also need to diversify our critical minerals sources. China currently dominates the supply chain, but many countries don’t want to be dependent on just China, so they’re looking to onshore, nearshore, or at least friendshore supply lines.

There’s a lot of momentum, but long lead times, high upfront costs, and other challenges can make it tough for new projects to get off the ground without secure sources of favorable funding.

Electrek: I guess that’s where the Minerals Security Partnership comes in. What is it, and has it achieved anything yet?

John DeMaio: The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) [which launched in June 2022] is an alliance made up of 13 countries [including the US] and the EU, and it’s likely to expand. It’s working to drive public and private investment in critical mineral projects globally.

Last week, the MSP held its inaugural ministerial meeting in the UK, and that resulted in the agreement to “drive responsible investment” in 11 projects in mining or extraction, 4 in processing, and 1 in recycling. That’s going to help to expand and diversify the critical mineral supply chain across continents and mineral types.

How is the MSP impacting critical mineral mining and processing?

The MSP fosters cross-border collaboration, and that’s essential for critical mineral mining. Geology predetermined where these minerals lay in the ground literally epochs ago, so we need to make the most of the current layout. Certain countries that need a lot of minerals to manufacture batteries don’t have enough to build out a mine-to-battery supply chain domestically, while other countries have plenty of critical minerals to tap but less demand from local EV manufacturers for battery inputs.

Mining thrives on far-flung cooperation, but processing thrives on local investment. Battery and EV manufacturers benefit from shorter supply distances to mineral processing locations, which are geographically flexible. Countries can build out their mineral processing capacity anywhere that companies can source the permits, build or renovate the plants, and train the talent. At Graphex, we’re assembling one of the first large-scale mine-to-battery supply chains for natural graphite anode material in North America.

Do MSP countries qualify for US EV incentives via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)?

MSP helps countries coordinate their support for critical mineral projects across borders but doesn’t – at least, not yet – open up members for IRA tax credits. But multiple countries within the MSP already have free-trade agreements with the US, such as Canada, Australia, and, most recently, Japan. Rumor has it that the US is currently negotiating free-trade agreement deals with other groups within the club, such as the UK and EU.

IRA incentives apply only to EVs assembled in North America that meet certain geographic supply chain thresholds for critical minerals and battery components. To qualify for the full IRA $7,500 tax credit this year, vehicles have to have at least 50% of their battery components produced and at least 40% of their critical minerals extracted, processed, and/or recycled either in North America or in a country with which the US has a free trade agreement.

I’m optimistic that the MSP is going to help to build out a secure, diversified battery mineral supply chain to support EV growth. It’s prioritizing promoting responsible practices, and that’s going to set a high standard for project operations that will, I think, continue to drive the nearshoring trend.

Read more: This 240t electric mining haul truck can charge in 30 minutes

Photo: ABB, electric mining truck


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750W e-bikes in Europe? Discussions underway to update e-bike laws

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750W e-bikes in Europe? Discussions underway to update e-bike laws

The e-bike industry in the West has long been a tale of two territories. North Americans enjoy higher speeds and power limits for their electric bicycles while Europeans are held to much stricter (i.e. slower and lower) speed and power limits. However, things might change based on current discussions on rewriting European e-bike regulations.

New power levels are not totally without precedent, either. The UK briefly considered doubling its own e-bike power limit from 250 watts (approximately 1/3 horsepower) to 500 watts, though the move was ultimately abandoned.

But this time, the call for more power is coming from within the house – i.e., Germany. The Germans are the undisputed leaders and trend setters in the European e-bike market, accounting for around two million sales of e-bikes per year. Home to leading e-bike drive makers like Bosch, the country has yet another advantage when it comes to making – or regulating – waves in the industry.

And while there aren’t any pending law changes, the largest German trade organization ZIV (Zweirad-Industrie-Verband), which is highly influential in achieving such changes, is now discussing what it believes could be pertinent updates to current EU electric bike regulations.

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Some of the new regulations involve creating rules maxing out power at levels such as 400% or 600% of the human pedaling input. But a key component of the proposed plan includes changing the present day power limit of e-bikes from 250W of continuous power at the motor to 750W of peak power at the drive wheel.

The difference includes some nuance, since continuous power is often considered more of a nominal figure, meaning nearly every e-bike motor in Europe wears a “250W” or less sticker despite often outputting a higher level of peak power. Even Bosch, which has to walk the tight and narrow as a leader in the European e-bike drive market, shared that its newest models of motors are capable of peak power ratings in the 600W level. That’s still far from the commonly 1,000W to 1,300W peak power seen in US e-bike motors, but offers a nice boost over an actual 250W motor.

Other new regulations up for discussion include proposals to limit fully-loaded cargo e-bike weights to either 250 kg (550 lb) for two-wheelers or 300 kg (660 lb) for e-bikes with more than two wheels. As road.cc explained, ZIV also noted that, “separate framework conditions and parameters must be defined for cargo bikes weighing more than 300 kg (see EN 17860-4:2025) as they differ significantly from EPACs and bicycles in their dynamics, design and operation.” Such heavy-duty cargo e-bikes, which often more closely resemble small delivery vans than large cargo bikes, are becoming more common in the industry and have raised concerns about cargo e-bike bloat, especially in dedicated cycling paths.

It’s too early to say whether European e-bike regulations will actually change, but the fact that key industry voices with the power to influence policy are openly advocating for it suggests that new rules for the European market are a real possibility.

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China overhauls EV charging: 100,000 ultra-fast public stations by 2027

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China overhauls EV charging: 100,000 ultra-fast public stations by 2027

China just laid out a plan to roll out over 100,000 ultra-fast EV charging stations by 2027 – and they’ll all be open to the public.

The National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) joint notice, issued on Monday, asks local authorities to put together construction plans for highway service areas and prioritize the ones that see 40% or more usage during holiday travel rushes.

The NDRC notes that China’s ultra-fast EV charging infrastructure needs upgrading as more 800V EVs hit the road. Those high-voltage platforms can handle super-fast charging in as little as 10 to 30 minutes, but only if the charging hardware is up to speed.

China had 31.4 million EVs on the road at the end of 2024 – nearly 9% of the country’s total vehicle fleet. But charging access is still catching up. As of May 2025, there were 14.4 million charging points, or roughly 1 for every 2.2 EVs.

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To keep the grid running smoothly, China wants new chargers to be smart, with dynamic pricing to incentivize off-peak charging and solar and storage to power the charging stations.

To make the business side work, the government is pushing for 10-year leases for charging station operators, and it’s backing the buildout with local government bonds.

The NDRC emphasized that the DC fast chargers built will be open to the public. This is a big deal because a lot of fast chargers in China aren’t. For example, BYD’s new megawatt chargers aren’t open to third-party vehicles.

As of September 2024, China had expanded its charging infrastructure to 11.4 million EV chargers, but only 3.3 million were public.

Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles


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Two charged in $650 million global crypto scam that promised 300% returns

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Two charged in 0 million global crypto scam that promised 300% returns

A U.S. Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as “Main Justice,” is seen behind the podium in the Department’s headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Federal prosecutors have charged two men in connection with a sprawling cryptocurrency investment scheme that defrauded victims out of more than $650 million.

The indictment, unsealed in the District of Puerto Rico, accuses Michael Shannon Sims, 48, of Georgia and Florida, and Juan Carlos Reynoso, 57, of New Jersey and Florida, of operating and promoting OmegaPro, an international crypto multi-level marketing scheme that promised investors 300% returns over 16 months through foreign exchange trading.

“This case exposes the ruthless reality of modern financial crime,” said the Internal Revenue Service’s Chief of Criminal Investigations Guy Ficco. “OmegaPro promised financial freedom but delivered financial ruin.”

From 2019 to 2023, Sims, Reynoso and their co-conspirators allegedly lured thousands of victims worldwide to purchase “investment packages” using cryptocurrency, falsely claiming the funds would be safely managed by elite forex traders, the Department of Justice said.

Prosecutors said the pair flaunted their wealth through social media and extravagant events — including projecting the OmegaPro logo onto the Burj Khalifa, Dubai’s tallest building — to convince investors the operation was legitimate.

A video posted to the company’s LinkedIn page shows guests in evening attire posing for photos and watching the spectacle in Dubai.

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In reality, authorities allege, OmegaPro was a pyramid-style fraud.

When the company later claimed it had suffered a hack, the defendants told victims they had transferred their funds to a new platform called Broker Group, the DOJ said. Users were never able to withdraw their money from either platform.

The two men face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The Justice Department, FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations led the multiagency investigation, with help from international partners.

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