Davos 2025: BGV trials Ukrainian graphite for lithium-ion batteries

The BGV Group Management team attended events at the Ukrainian House in Davos as part of the World Economic Forum's unofficial program. They contributed to the panel discussion titled "Ukraine: A country with mineral reserves worth $12 trillion," which also featured representatives from the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, global consulting firms, and American businesses.

BGV Group Management has been a leading player in Ukraine's critical materials mining sector for almost a decade. In Davos, Switzerland, Sergii Voitsekhovskyi, a member of BGV Group Management's board of directors, highlighted the company's plans to enter the international critical raw materials (CRM) market, focusing on graphite and beryllium.

The BGV investment group provided updates on their flagship graphite mining project, BGV Graphite, based on the Balakhivske deposit. By early 2025, the company had successfully completed the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) and pilot technological tests for the final product. Since late 2024, Rozvytok Pobuzhzhia, part of the BGV Group, has been collaborating with Metso (Finland) on basic engineering for an enrichment plant. Design work is also underway to develop a mining and enrichment complex. Construction is set to commence in the first quarter of 2026. The main advantage of the graphite concentrate from the Balakhiv deposit is its high quality, boasting a carbon content of 97%. In contrast, standard concentrates usually have a carbon content of up to 95%. In 2024, laboratory and semi-industrial tests for further graphite purification to a battery-grade quality of 99.99% were completed, along with the subsequent production of spherical graphite (SPG). This work was carried out in collaboration with the German partner ANZAPLAN. Testing of the resulting anode material in lithium-ion batteries confirmed the highest possible quality of the products.

In 2025, the company will commence design work for the SPG production plant.

Sergii Voitsekhovskyi also shared updates on the beryllium mining project, BGV Beryllium. In recent years, the company has carried out verification drilling and conducted chemical, mineralogical, and technological research. In 2024, they initiated work on a preliminary feasibility study. During the panel discussion, the BGV team highlighted the potential for mining valuable associated minerals, including zinc, rare earth elements, and rare metal elements.

"Ukraine is a country of new opportunities. We have 22 out of 50 strategic materials identified by the US as critically important, as well as 25 out of 34 recognized as critical in the EU. Our country is a country of highly qualified professionals with significant practical experience, scientifically based approaches, advantageous logistics, support for CRM projects at the government and community levels, as well as sustainable, responsible, and motivated businesses that, despite the war, remain in Ukraine, investing in mining and other projects. The future of the global economy and the advancement of international security are already unfolding, and Ukraine plays a crucial role in this process. Specifically, Ukraine possesses all the prerequisites to greatly enhance the international mining sector and become a reliable partner in the field of critical raw materials (CRM)," Sergii Voitsehovskyi said.

The BGV Group Management team presented the Ukrainian House in Davos with a symbolic gift—a sample of graphite ore sourced during geological research at the Balakhivske deposit in the Kirovohrad region. This gift represents the potential and active efforts in CRM projects that the company invests in and continues to develop despite the ongoing war.

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In 2025, BGV Group Management partnered with events at the Ukraine House in Davos, held from January 20-23, alongside the main program of the World Economic Forum. This gathering attracted global business leaders, politicians, opinion leaders, and media representatives, aiming to bolster Ukraine's international support and highlight its status as a reliable and stable partner with significant potential.