Natural graphite in making ecofriendly lithium-ion batteries: Challenges, current status, and future outlooks

Natural graphite (NG) is a dominant anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), owing to its global abundance, low cost, tunable structure, and high theoretical capacity. Significant reserves in countries such as Canada further strengthen its potential for sustainable utilization and securing future supply chains. However, impurities in NG significantly limit its electrochemical performance, necessitating the development of effective purification strategies. In this review, we summarize the fundamental properties, market trends, and applications of NG-based anodes in LIBs, with a particular focus on sustainable and environmentally responsible purification approaches for enhancing performance. We highlight state-of-the-art methods that improve capacity, durability, and recyclability, and propose a roadmap for exploiting graphite's intrinsic characteristics to develop eco-friendly LIBs aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7). Furthermore, we examine the potential of recycling spent graphite anodes to close the material loop. Finally, we discuss the key challenges hindering large-scale adoption and outline opportunities for transformative, high-impact applications in next-generation energy storage.