America already has what it needs to build better batteries
We’re sharing a video we set out to make for a simple reason: to bring to life what a domestic battery supply chain looks like today. In partnership with Ferroglobe—the largest silicon producer in the Western world and a long-standing U.S. industrial manufacturer—we trace something that’s rarely shown: a fully domestic system that already exists and sidesteps graphite entirely, at a moment when China is tightening control. The result is a clear view of how silicon, one of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, can be sourced here at home to power the industries driving the next era of mobility, defense, and energy.
We’re proud to share this story because it reflects what Coreshell is building every day: practical innovation rooted in American materials, manufacturing, and partnerships.
Today’s challenge
Batteries sit at the center of economic growth and national security, powering everything from EVs and defense systems to the grid and AI infrastructure. But nearly every lithium-ion battery still depends on graphite, and China controls over 90 percent of global graphite production and processing. That concentration leaves manufacturers exposed to supply shocks, rising costs, and real strategic risk. The question is no longer whether we need a domestic alternative, but how we build one using materials and industrial capacity that already exist here.
For decades, silicon has been viewed as the next step beyond graphite, but durability issues kept it out of real-world use. At Coreshell, we’ve solved that problem. Our technology allows silicon to perform reliably at scale and plug directly into existing gigafactory manufacturing processes.
The solution for tomorrow
As our documentary unveils, this future is possible because the building blocks already exist. Domestic materials, deep industrial know-how, and workforces have been doing this work for generations. Silicon starts in American soil, mined responsibly from quartz and sand in places like Alabama. The land is restored and reused, agriculture continues alongside mining, and local communities are involved from the beginning.
That material moves to furnaces that have been running for decades, including a plant in Ohio that’s been operating since 1953. These facilities are staffed by multi-generation teams who have worked in the same plants for years and take real pride in what they produce and why it matters. After smelting and milling, the silicon comes to our facility in California, where it’s turned into finished and validated battery materials.
This isn’t just a story about Coreshell or Ferroglobe. It’s about linking American resources, industrial infrastructure, and modern battery science into one working supply chain.
We invite you to see how materials, people, and engineering come together to power the batteries behind today’s mobility, energy, and defense systems—and how long-standing American industry is being reconnected to next generation technologies shaping our future.
We hope you watch our short documentary, and share it with anyone who cares about how big problems get solved—and how the materials and talent here at home are key to moving us forward.
Watch the video here
