Global Graphite Market - Forecasts from 2022 to 2027

Global Graphite Market - Forecasts from 2022 to 2027

The global graphite market is projected to surge at a CAGR of 9.56% from a market size of US$6.951 billion in 2020 to achieve a market valuation of US$13.173 billion by the end of 2027. Graphite is found in the form of black crystal flakes and masses. Important properties include high electrical conductivity, thermal stability, and slipperiness, i.e., also known as lubricity. These properties make it highly suitable for several industrial applications, including lubricants, steelmaking, refractories, electronics, and lubricants. The use of graphite in emerging applications such as fuel cells and lightweight high-strength composite applications is predicted to surge drive the demand for graphite in the forecast period. The growing adoption of EVs further fuels market growth during the forecast period.

China, India, and Brazil are the top three major graphite producers in the world. During the forecast period, the steel industry is the major end-user of the global graphite market. Hence, with the decline in global steel production amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the market is also predicted to be affected negatively by the global pandemic in 2020. As per the World Steel Association, the global steel demand is estimated to witness a substantial decrease of 6.4% in 2020. In 2021, production is expected to recover partially.

Based on type, the market is classified as natural and synthetic; Synthetic graphite is predicted to hold a significant market share in the forecast period. Based on application, the market is segregated into lubricants, batteries, writing materials, refractories, nuclear reactors, and graphene sheets. Refractory applications are estimated to hold a significant market share, while batteries are estimated to be the fastest-growing application in the forecast period. The use of graphite in lithium-ion batteries is burgeoning the market demand. The global graphite market is categorized into automotive, energy & power, steel, electronics, aerospace, and others based on the end-user industry. During the forecast period, the steel end-user industry is expected to hold a significant market share of the global total. Steel, the end-user industry, holds a significant market share in the global total during the forecast period. The market is further categorized into North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region based on geography. The APAC region is predicted to hold a significant market share in the global graphite market during the forecast period.

The growing trend of clean technology adoption is increasing market demand for the use of graphite in electric vehicles. EV adoption is driving up market demand during the forecast period. The growing trend of adopting clean technology is burgeoning the market demand with the utilization of graphite in electric vehicles. The growing adoption of EVs is soaring the market demand in the forecast period.

Graphite is used as one of the essential materials in manufacturing electric car batteries. It is a highly conductive material for making EV electrodes. It has been observed that synthetic graphite is preferred for EV batteries due to its higher purity. The product is a byproduct of coal tar or petroleum coke baked at 28000 Celsius in an electrically fired furnace from coal-fired utility plants. The product is, however, more environmentally unpleasant. The lithium-ion battery contains more graphite (around 40 times) than lithium. Hence, with the increasing demand for electric vehicles around the globe, the market will continue to grow in the forecast period. The ban on gas- and diesel-powered cars by the federal governments worldwide creates a need for the manufacturing of electric cars. In addition to France, other nations are also geared to work on reducing environmental impacts caused by automobiles, thus contributing to reducing carbon emissions. In the United Kingdom, the government is focused on the targets set by the Paris Convention to make all vehicles zero-emission by the end of 2050. Similarly, in Norway, the government has decided that all the new cars and vans sold after 2025 should be electric vehicles.

The world's developing regions are also poised to play a role in EV adoption. For example, China is working on a novel target where around 12% of all vehicles are expected to be electric by the end of 2020. In India, a policy stating all vehicles will be sold as electric by the end of 2030 has been established. According to the IEA statistics, electric car sales in 2019 accounted for around 2.1 million globally. This is projected to exceed by the previous year, further boosting the stock of electric cars to around 7.2 million. Electric cars registered a 40% y-o-y growth from 2018-to 2019.

Additionally, as the technological advancements in the electrification of two and three-wheelers, buses, and trucks continue s to grow, this further contributes to the expansion of electric vehicles at a significant pace during the forecast period. The electric vehicle charging infrastructure continues d to increase. It was estimated by the IEA that there were around 7.3 million chargers in the world in 2019. Of these, around 6.5 million chargers were recorded for private, light-duty vehicle slow chargers in houses, multi-dwelling buildings, and workplaces. The prevalence of private charging is attributed to various supportive policies, cost-effectiveness, and convenience. The support policies include preferential rates, incentives for equipment purchases, and rebates.

Significant collaborations in the graphite industry further augment the market growth during the forecast period.

In 2019, the companies Urbix Resources and Asbury Carbons announced their collaboration. They declared the signing of the letter of intent outlining the interests of both companies to pursue joint ventures and other opportunities while in partnership with each other. These include collaboration for purified flake graphite, energy storage graphite grades, graphene, and graphene-like additives. The company, Asbury Carbons, acquired 100% ownership in Urbix Resources’ natural graphite powder milling facility situated outside of Hermosillo, Sonora, MX. At present, the milling facility produces fine microcrystalline graphite powder that is utilized for refractory, steel, and coating applications.

Additionally, the two companies expressed similar business interests by signing a letter of intent for the highly refined graphite product space. Urbex Resources is poised to provide one of the lowest purification costs worldwide to achieve lithium-ion battery grades that amount to less than USD375 per tonne for purification to around 99.95% plus total graphitic content. This will now be produced on its novel production site in Arizona. The production unit will be able to process up to 31,000 metric tonnes of high-purity graphene additives annually. Also, this is poised to be one of the largest facilities worldwide capable of producing graphene additives. The new facility is being constructed with the help of a worldwide renowned mining firm that has confirmed the expected cost of refining at the novel facility in Arizona.

Novo Carbon Corporation has announced that it is entering into a collaborative agreement with Versarien Graphene in 2019 to meet the following objectives. The company, Versarien, is poised to qualify the other company as a supply chain partner. The two companies are geared toward developing a strong graphene supply chain with processing in the United States. Together, the companies are set to work to enable for enabling numerous applications for varied industrial applications. Furthermore, the partnership is aimed toward opportunities that will create a robust market presence and an improved capability for targeting significant opportunities in technology.

Significant product launches that indicate continuous innovation in the global graphite industry further propel the market growth during the forecast period.

The graphite sheet developer, NeoGraf Solutions announced the launch of its thermal management solutions in 2019. The company released a series of thick and single-layered flexible graphite solutions. The advanced graphite heat spreaders contain synthetic graphite's high thermal conductivity and are thicker compared to the synthetic products commodities. The novel product is designed to meet the demands of modern electronic devices, requiring several layers of synthetic graphite to function efficiently.

Gratomic Inc. announced the release of the first graphene from Gratomic graphite-derived product in 2019. The derived products, known as Gratomic graphenes, are deduced from the Gratomic graphite from the Aukum mine situated in Namibia. They are utilized for the manufacturing of graphene-enabled conductive inks and pastes.

Significant contract agreements in the graphite industry are burgeoning the market growth during the forecast period.

Volt Resources announced the advance ing of the graphite off-take agreements in Tanzania. Gratomic announced the release of the first graphene from Gratomic graphite-derived product in 2019. The management team of Volt Resources visited China for discussions related to binding off-take agreements that are in line with the progress of the company in development funding, feasibility studies y, approvals for development, and contracts related to construction for a project named the Bunyu graphite project in the region of Tanzania. It is an important project for the company. Several meetings were held commencing the project information exchange and product samples for discussions related to long-term n supply arrangements. As per t the feedback received, there is a high demand for coarse flake material, above 150-micron size, for utilization in the growing graphite market. This strongly supports the company’s strategy for maximizing coarse flake graphite production.

The Westwater resources company announced that it entered into a purchase agreement (long-term) in 2019 for the procurement of high-purity natural flake graphite concentrate. This is for its planned advanced battery materials processing facility in Alabama for its Coosa graphite project.

Covid-19 impact on the global graphite market

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a challenging business arena for the graphite market. The key end-user industries including electronics, metallurgy, and automotive were shut down due to the disease outbreak shutdown. Lithium Batteries are another prime end-user industry of the market which was adversely impacted by the pandemic. Battery cell production in China, Japan and South Korea was severely impacted by the disease outbreak. Furthermore, the manufacturing of electronic parts was halted. These factors contributed to a fall in the graphite market.

Key Developments:

June 2021, Betterray New Material Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned division of Betterray Group, will hold a launch event for the first stage of the lithium-ion battery anode material project, which will have an annual output of 50,000 tonnes.
December 2020, Hexagon Energy Materials Limited procure Ebony Energy Limited. Hexagon will issue one Hexagon share for every 1.32 Ebony Energy share as part of the buyout. Hexagon will issue up to 77.04 million shares as payment.
October 2020, BlackEarth Minerals joined a 50:50 joint venture arrangement with Metachem Manufacturing to create an expandable graphite unit in India. The forthcoming plant will have an initial capacity of 2,000-2,500 tonnes per year. Furthermore, the plant's efficiency can be enhanced to 4,000 tonnes per year in the years ahead.
July 2020, Tokai Carbon and Tokai COBEX completed the acquisition of all the shares of Carbone Savoie International SAS, which holds Carbone Savoie SAS, a French carbon graphite product manufacturer.

Market Segmentation:

By Type

Natural
Synthetic

By Application

Lubricants
Batteries
Writing Material
Refractory
Nuclear Rectors
Graphene Sheets

By End-User Industry

Automotive
Energy & Power
Steel
Electronics
Aerospace
Others

By Geography

North America
USA
Canada
Mexico
South America
Brazil
Argentina
Others
Europe
UK
Germany
France

Others

Middle East and Africa
UAE
Israel
Saudi Arabia
Others
Asia Pacific
Japan
China
India
South Korea
Thailand
Indonesia
Taiwan
Others