Cabot Expands Battery Materials Platform With $50M DOE Grant
Cabot Corporation CBT is planning to expand domestic production of advanced conductive additives at its Franklin, LA, and Pampa facilities through a modified $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI).
The funding, along with approximately $75 million of Cabot investment, the company will be able to meet the rising demand for energy storage systems, AI infrastructure, data centers, grid modernization and broader electrification.
Under the revised agreement, the company will redirect funding from its originally planned Michigan project toward a two-site brownfield expansion. Leveraging established manufacturing assets is expected to accelerate development, improve production efficiency and strengthen supply capabilities.
The investment will also support Franklin’s production of LITX advanced battery-grade conductive carbons, while the Pampa facility will establish Cabot’s first commercial-scale production of carbon nanostructures and part of its ENERMAX product family. Both projects are expected to become operational by the end of 2028.
Cabot’s established customer relationships, global manufacturing footprint and expertise in conductive carbons, carbon nanotubes and carbon nanostructures position it to serve growing battery material requirements. The investment is expected to strengthen the company’s competitive position while expanding its presence in the North American battery market.
CBT’s shares have gained 17% year to date compared with the industry’s 13.7% rise in the same period.
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CBT’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
CBT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Reliance, Inc. RS, Kronos Worldwide, Inc. KRO and Avient Corporation AVNT.
While RS currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), KRO and AVNT carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RS’ 2026 earnings is pegged at $22.23 per share, indicating a 55.89% year-over-year increase. RS’shares have gained 39.2% over the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KRO’s 2026 earnings is pegged at 35 cents per share, indicating a rise of 136.46% year over year. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters while missing it in the rest, with an average surprise of 33.99%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVNT’s current-year earnings is pinned at $3.2 per share, indicating a 13.48% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 3.4%. AVNT’s shares have gained 15.5% over the past year.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
