Novonix, a Chattanooga-based manufacturer with delayed plans to become a major supplier of an electric vehicle battery component, lost a major customer as Stellantis canceled a contract to buy its synthetic graphite.
A subsidiary of the maker of Chrysler and Dodge vehicles terminated its contract with Novonix effective immediately, Novonix announced Tuesday. Synthetic graphite stores energy in lithium-ion batteries used in EVs.
Novonix signed the contract for a minimum of 86,250 tons up to a target of 115,000 tons over a six-year term in an agreement announced in November 2024. The publicly traded company was supposed to start supplying synthetic graphite to Stellantis beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
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Stellantis was one of three major future customers Novonix had lined up. The others are Panasonic, a major global supplier of lithium-ion batteries, and PowerCo, Volkswagen’s battery company.