Graphene Stocks Rise as Canada Reshapes Global Supply Chains in 2024

Recent months have painted a complex picture for the graphite and graphene stocks sector. While traditional natural graphite has faced pricing pressure, a perfect storm of geopolitical tensions and policy shifts is reshaping where battery-grade materials come from—and Canadian companies are positioned right in the middle of this transition.

The Market Pressure Reshaping Everything

Graphite prices have been caught in an unpredictable cycle lately. The core issue: demand for EV batteries isn’t growing as fast as expected, creating bottlenecks in the supply chain. But here’s where it gets interesting. China implemented export restrictions on certain graphite products starting December 1, 2023, requiring special permits for shipments. Then in May 2024, the US Biden administration announced a 25 percent tariff on natural graphite and permanent magnets by 2026, with some critical minerals facing the same rate increase in 2024 itself.

With Donald Trump set to take office in January 2025, market observers are bracing for potentially even steeper tariffs. This isn’t just trade politics—it’s forcing a fundamental restructuring of how the world sources battery materials.

Why This Matters for Canadian Graphene Stocks

Here’s the real story: these trade barriers are creating an unprecedented opportunity. According to industry analysts, graphite mining companies are actively securing funding from US and EU government programs to build mines and battery-grade anode facilities outside China. The goal is clear: establish reliable supply chains that bypass geopolitical risks entirely.

Another major shift is already underway. Battery producers are increasingly switching from natural graphite to synthetic alternatives in anode production. This substitution, driven by Chinese export curbs and US tariffs, has crushed natural graphite pricing. Yet it’s opened doors for graphene innovators and integrated producers—companies that can offer alternatives or add value through processing and product development.

Canadian graphene stocks and graphite companies, many of which focus on technology rather than pure extraction, are becoming attractive to investors betting on this supply chain realignment.

Three Canadian Players Capturing the Moment

HydroGraph Clean Power (CSE:HG) – The Innovation Leader

This company stands out for its 75 percent year-to-date gain. Trading at C$0.175 with a market cap of C$38.95 million, HydroGraph has built something rare: a proprietary deposition technology licensed from Kansas State University that produces high-purity graphene and hydrogen.

The company’s 2024 momentum came from strategic moves. In April, it signed a memorandum with the UAE’s Khalifa University to develop graphene applications across cement, concrete, lubricants, and energy storage. The same month, its flagship FGA-1 graphene product was selected by hardware maker Volfpack Energy as the base material for supercapacitor technology targeting Asia’s renewable energy sector.

By May, shares had more than doubled to C$0.20, supported by a C$3.6 million oversubscribed private placement. Despite a summer dip into the C$0.10-C$0.12 range, fall developments reignited interest. In late October, HydroGraph extended its nanomaterials research partnership with the University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre. That collaboration then revealed a breakthrough: FGA-1 graphene enhances bottle performance while reducing plastic content in global PET packaging.

Most recently, on November 20, a major automotive customer placed a purchase order for research quantities of four novel graphene products. Automotive composites represent a critical growth vector for graphene applications, signaling serious commercial traction.

Zentek (TSXV:ZEN) – The Diversified Player

With a 13.01 percent year-to-date gain, Zentek operates differently. At C$1.65 per share and C$174.83 million market cap, it’s developing graphene-based products through its proprietary ZenGUARD platform, which delivers 99 percent antimicrobial effectiveness in surgical masks. The company is scaling this into HVAC applications.

But Zentek isn’t just a materials processor. Through its subsidiary Albany Graphite, it holds full ownership of the Albany graphite deposit in Ontario—a strategic asset in a world seeking non-Chinese graphite sources. Early 2024 saw the stock reach C$2.11 on January 8, but a gradual decline followed despite positive catalysts: a distribution agreement with DCL Supply for ZenGUARD filters, a second US patent grant for its graphene-based antimicrobial ingredient, and 99.99915 percent purity achievement from Albany samples.

The turning point came in Q4. After announcing increasing demand for ZenGUARD antimicrobial surgical masks following a Canada-wide dental sampling program, shares rebounded to C$1.79 by November 18. The company also released positive preliminary battery results tied to an expanded University of Toronto research collaboration.

Black Swan Graphene (TSXV:SWAN) – The Vertically Integrated Player

Trading at C$0.085 with a C$14.4 million market cap and a 6.25 percent year-to-date gain, Black Swan represents an interesting model. It’s a spinout of Mason Resources (owner of the Uatnan graphite project in Québec) and holds strategic backing from UK-based Thomas Swan & Co., a global chemicals manufacturer with a 15 percent stake and patents in graphene production.

This partnership creates an integrated supply chain from mine to finished graphene products—exactly the kind of structure investors want in a supply-chain-diversification era. Black Swan’s 2024 gains stemmed from new product launches, particularly the GraphCore 01 family of graphene nanoplatelets announced in April, featuring powders and polymer-ready masterbatches for the polymer industry.

The stock peaked at C$0.15 on June 19 following a commercial partnership announcement with Graphene Composites. The collaboration will incorporate Black Swan’s graphene into GC Shield, a patented ballistic protection technology—opening defense and security applications alongside traditional materials markets.

The Bigger Picture

What ties these three together isn’t just that they’re Canadian. It’s that each addresses a different facet of the supply chain transformation: HydroGraph innovates on processing and applications, Zentek combines graphene technology with upstream graphite assets, and Black Swan builds integrated mine-to-product chains. As tariffs climb and China’s export restrictions bite deeper, this mix of capabilities is increasingly valuable. The year ahead will show whether these graphene stocks and graphite-focused companies can maintain momentum as the world genuinely decouples from single-source dependencies.