Graphite One Faces Cash Squeeze as September Permit Deadline Nears After $2 Billion EXIM Pledge

Cash-strapped Graphite One awaits Sept 29 US permitting verdict for $2.07B financing, after quarterly loss doubled to $3M.

The clock is ticking for Graphite One. The Canadian developer, which aims to build a fully integrated US supply chain for battery anode materials, ended its first quarter of fiscal 2026 with just $18.56 million in cash — and a quarterly loss that nearly doubled from a year earlier. All eyes are now on September 29, when the company expects a final decision from US regulators under the FAST-41 permitting program, the gateway to the federal financing it desperately needs.

The net loss for the quarter came in at $3.03 million, or $0.02 per share, more than double the roughly $1.5 million loss recorded in the same period last year. Marketing and investor relations absorbed $1.11 million, while project development costs added another $535,000. Working capital stood at $28.52 million, thanks largely to a public offering in February that raised C$35 million (20 million units at C$1.75 each) and another C$8.55 million from the exercise of outstanding warrants. But management has been blunt that the current cushion will not carry the company through the next twelve months.

Much of the development spending went toward the relocation of the planned manufacturing site. Graphite One scrapped its original factory plan in Warren, Ohio, after the local power grid fell short of requirements, and signed a use agreement with a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway for a site in Conneaut, Ohio. The first phase is targeting annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes of anode material by the end of 2027, with a second phase adding 25,000 tonnes of graphitization capacity by the third quarter of 2028. The long-term blueprint calls for 25,000-tonne increments up to 100,000 tonnes a year, but every expansion stage hinges on financing, permits, and final power contracts.

The company’s big hope for capital rests with the US Export-Import Bank, which has issued non-binding letters of interest totaling $2.07 billion for the Alaska-to-Ohio supply chain. Of that sum, $1.4 billion is earmarked for the Ohio plant. Formal applications are expected to be filed later this year. Environmental studies and geotechnical drilling for access roads at the Graphite Creek mine in Alaska are planned for summer 2026.

An unexpected asset could strengthen the project’s economics. Independent tests of the garnet rock at Graphite Creek revealed a high concentration of rare earth elements, about 85% of which are heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and scandium. Additional testing in partnership with a US national laboratory is scheduled for later this year.

To keep key personnel in place through these milestone months, the board approved a compensation package of roughly 1.5 million stock options and restricted shares for employees and executives. Shareholders will vote on renewing the program at the annual general meeting in June.

The stock traded at €0.74, down about 37% since the start of the year, though that represents a recovery from a September low of €0.42. Technical support sits at the 50-day moving average of €0.76; a break below that level could invite a retest of the year’s lows. Whether the September FAST-41 decision acts as a catalyst will depend on how convincingly Graphite One addresses its funding gap before then.