HydroGraph Clean Power, a commercial manufacturer of synthetic graphene, is calling on U.S. policymakers to designate graphene as a critical material under the Defense Production Act.

The company made the recommendation as part of its expanded focus on federal government, aerospace and defense markets. Its position is that a secure domestic graphene supply would reduce the exposure of the U.S. defense industrial base to foreign-controlled graphite production while supporting advanced materials development for next-generation defense systems.

HydroGraph noted that most commercially produced graphene is derived from mined graphite. The company cited estimates that China accounts for approximately 80% of the global graphite supply and warned that prospective export controls could affect international access to graphite-derived materials.

Graphite appears on the current U.S. critical-minerals list, but graphene does not. HydroGraph is seeking a separate designation that recognizes the advanced material’s potential importance to defense manufacturing and other strategic industries.

HydroGraph produces graphene from hydrocarbon gas and oxygen using an exclusively licensed, patented detonation-synthesis process. Its position is that this approach provides a domestic pathway to high-performance graphene without upstream dependence on foreign graphite mining and processing.

Industrial Sustainability Monthly: Raw graphene representing the HydroGraph Clean Power proposal for a U.S. critical-material designation.

Raw graphene, shown here, is the advanced material that HydroGraph Clean Power wants designated as critical to U.S. defense manufacturing and domestic supply security.

“This is bigger than any one program or platform — it’s about whether the United States controls the materials critical to its defense industrial base,” said Dr. Robert Yancey, Vice President of Business Development – Government and Defense at HydroGraph. “China’s export licensing suspension isn’t a resolution, it’s a reprieve. The legal authority to reimpose graphite export controls remains fully intact and can be activated with 30 days’ notice. Domestic graphene addresses that vulnerability at the source, because the feedstock is hydrocarbon gas, not mined graphite, so there’s no upstream exposure to China.”

The HydroGraph process produces nanoscale Fractal Graphene™ designed to disperse effectively within other materials. The company said improved dispersion enables mechanical, thermal and electrical performance benefits at concentrations that are often below 0.1%.

Potential applications include lightweight aerospace structures, electromagnetic shielding, protective coatings, thermal-management systems, lubricants and infrastructure materials. HydroGraph has reported improvements in material strength, thermal and electrical conductivity, lubrication and protective performance when its graphene is incorporated into suitable host materials.

The company is asking U.S. policymakers to pursue three actions: designate graphene as a critical material under the Defense Production Act, fund qualification programs for priority defense applications and establish a national graphene research and innovation institute.

HydroGraph also noted that the United Kingdom, European Union, South Korea and China have established government-supported graphene programs. The company’s position is that the United States has a strong university, national laboratory and government research base but lacks a coordinated national program connecting graphene research with industrial capacity and defense requirements.

“The research base already exists in U.S. universities, national labs, and government research centers — this is not a scientific gap, it’s a policy gap,” said Kjirstin Breure, Chair, President, and CEO of HydroGraph. “China, the EU, South Korea, and the UK are already treating graphene as a strategic material central to their national security planning. The United States still has a first-mover advantage in fielding domestic graphene at scale, but that advantage shrinks every month we wait. We believe securing this supply chain now is one of the clearest, most achievable steps the U.S. can take to protect its long-term national security.”

Graphene has not received the federal critical-material designation requested by HydroGraph. The company’s recommendations remain a policy proposal intended to encourage government investment, application qualification and domestic manufacturing capacity.

About HydroGraph Clean Power

Founded in 2017, HydroGraph Clean Power is a commercial manufacturer of ultra-pure synthetic graphene and other carbon nanomaterials. The company holds an exclusive worldwide license to produce synthetic graphene using a patented detonation-synthesis process. Its graphene technologies support applications across composites, coatings, lubricants, thermal management, electromagnetic shielding, concrete and other advanced material systems. HydroGraph maintains its U.S. headquarters in Austin, Texas. For more information, please click here.

Source/Photo Credit: HydroGraph Clean Power

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Molly Bakewell Chamberlin
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