Talga Group has signed a binding offtake term sheet with Dainen Materials of Japan for its Talnode-C natural graphite anode material, produced in Sweden. The term sheet reserves up to 2,000 tonnes a year for Dainen or its customers over a five year term starting with expected deliveries in late 2027, with extension rights. It follows a letter of intent signed in July 2026 and testing of Talnode-C against the specifications of Dainen’s Japanese battery customers.
Pricing is the detail that carries the strategy. The price links to a negotiated floor plus a mutually agreed premium for foreign entity of concern free status and environmental, social and governance credentials, priced in dollars on an ex works basis. In plain terms, the Japanese buyer is contractually recognising a premium for graphite that is demonstrably not Chinese controlled and is fully traceable, which is the commercial premise of Talga’s integrated mine to anode model at the Vittangi project in Sweden. The term sheet is binding on capacity reservation, the commercial framework and negotiation obligations, and both parties must use commercially reasonable efforts to execute a definitive master supply agreement by March 2027 to confirm final purchase volumes.
Chief executive Martin Phillips said the progression to a binding term sheet reflects the maturation of Talnode-C through years of testing and customer qualification in one of the world’s most demanding battery markets, and confirms Talga’s ability to deliver high performance, fully traceable anode material from a Western supply chain. Dainen executive vice president Daisuke Hayabara said Dainen looks forward to the definitive agreement and continued qualification of Talnode-C with its customers.
The volume is small, 2,000 tonnes a year against a Chinese anode industry measured in hundreds of thousands of tonnes, and the definitive agreement is still seven months of negotiation away. The significance is directional: alongside Talga’s parallel Japanese discussions with Mitsubishi Chemical and Hanwa reported earlier this year, the Dainen term sheet shows Japanese battery supply chains converting qualification work into binding commercial frameworks, which is the step that project financing for Vittangi can actually be priced against.