Tirupati Graphite plans to start producing 50,000 metric tons of graphite next year in Mozambique, aiming for 8% of global production by 2030, its CEO told Reuters in an interview.

A critical material in the production of batteries used to store energy and power electric vehicles, graphite is mainly mined in China, Mozambique, Madagascar and Brazil.

London-listed Tirupati acquired two graphite projects in Mozambique at Montepuez and Balama from Australian exploration company Battery Minerals Ltd in April.

It also has graphite mining and processing operations in Madagascar, with the capacity to produce 30,000 tons a year.

According to the source quoting the International Energy Agency, sales of electric vehicles are expected to rise to 14 million this year, up from 10 million in 2022, thus increasing demand for minerals used in batteries, such as graphite and lithium.

After acquiring the Mozambican assets, Tirupati is on track to start producing 50,000 tons of flake graphite a year in Montepuez, said CEO Shishir Poddar.

Also according to Reuters, Tirupati plans to increase production to 400,000 tons per year from Mozambique and Madagascar over seven years.

The two Mozambican projects currently have licenses to produce 158,000 tons a year, but production will be expanded as the global market grows, Poddar said.

Poddar said that global demand for graphite is expected to triple to 5 million tons by 2030.

"This is a very challenging situation for capacity development. For our part, we have come to a conclusion that allows us to reach 8% of global demand as our capacity that we will develop by 2030," said Poddar.

Tirupati is also positioning itself to benefit from pressure from Western governments to reduce dependence on China, which currently dominates the global supply of battery minerals, he said.

The company currently sells graphite to the United States, Europe, India and Japan.