How battery energy storage is made, step by step.

Lithium recovered from hard-rock spodumene mines, brine evaporation ponds, or emerging Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) techniques.

Class 1 (battery-grade) nickel from sulfide ores or laterite ores. Laterite typically requires HPAL processing downstream.

Cobalt is largely a by-product of copper and nickel mining. DRC dominates global supply; ASM (artisanal) exposure is a major sourcing concern.

Natural flake graphite mined primarily in China, Madagascar, Mozambique. Feedstock for anode-grade spherical graphite.

Concentrates and brines converted to battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide — the lithium feed to cathode active material and to downstream lithium salts.

Battery-grade lithium salts, chiefly LiPF6, made from lithium carbonate/hydroxide. The salt that dissolves into electrolyte — today's refining-to-electrolyte hand-off is really this step.

HPAL and sulfate production yield battery-grade nickel sulfate for cathode precursors.

Cobalt refined to battery-grade cobalt sulfate for cathode precursors.

High-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate (HPMSM) for NMC cathode precursors. Capacity is highly concentrated in China.

Petroleum needle coke and coal-tar pitch, the precursors graphitized into synthetic graphite anode. Held at cutoff: declared upstream feed for the synthetic-graphite anode; no distinct actor population is mapped in V1.

Precursor cathode active material (pCAM): co-precipitated nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide that feeds CAM producers. The node's own hand-off — pCAM producers feed CAM producers.

Finished cathode active material — NMC, NCA and LFP powders — made from precursor (or iron phosphate for LFP) plus lithium. Forks into NMC-NCA and LFP sub-maps here.

Iron phosphate feedstock for LFP cathode active material. Held at cutoff: declared upstream feed for the LFP cathode sub-map; no distinct actor population is mapped in V1.

Natural flake graphite purified and spheroidized into anode-grade material. Natural-graphite branch of the anode fork.

Needle coke and pitch graphitized at high temperature into synthetic graphite anode. Synthetic-graphite branch of the anode fork; also holds needle-coke and pitch producers.

Sodium-ion cathode materials (layered oxide / Prussian white). Held at cutoff: declared upstream feed for the sodium-ion cell sub-map; the 14 sodium-ion cell actors attach at the cell step, not here.

Microporous polyolefin film (wet or dry process) separating anode from cathode. Ceramic-coated variants improve thermal stability.

Lithium salt (LiPF6) dissolved in organic carbonates. Custom additive packages tune performance for each cell chemistry.

• ›Organic carbonate solvents and additive packages are known inputs, held at cutoff in V1 — recorded, not modeled as nodes.

PVDF or aqueous binders that hold electrode coatings together.

Carbon black and carbon-nanotube (CNT) additives that provide electrode conductivity.

Thin copper foil (≤6 µm) that serves as the anode current collector.

• ›Copper (cathode / wire rod) is a known upstream input to copper foil, held at cutoff — recorded, not modeled as a node.

Aluminum foil that serves as the cathode current collector.

Nickel foil / tab material used in some cell formats.

Coating, calendering, slitting, winding/stacking, formation. NMC and LFP dominate; sodium-ion and solid-state are scaling. Cell chemistry and anode type fork here.

Cells grouped into modules and packs with BMS, thermal management, and structural housing. CTP (cell-to-pack) reduces parts count.

Container-scale integration of packs with fire suppression, HVAC, and controls. Sold as turnkey utility-scale systems. Declared seed.

Site preparation, mechanical mounting, and grid interconnection that deliver installed storage capacity. Declared seed; bulk material inputs held at cutoff and no distinct installer actor population is mapped in V1.

Medium-voltage step-up transformers connecting the storage plant to the grid. Plant-level balance-of-system; feeds installation.

Storage balance-of-system: power conversion systems (PCS), EMS/BMS and plant controllers that condition and coordinate the batteries. Feeds installation.