Global Graphite Electrode Market Research Report 2023-Competitive Analysis, Status and Outlook by Type, Downstream Industry, and Geography, Forecast to 2029

Global Graphite Electrode Market Research Report 2023-Competitive Analysis, Status and Outlook by Type, Downstream Industry, and Geography, Forecast to 2029

Graphite electrode is a kind of high-temperature-resistant graphite conductive material, mainly made of raw materials of oil series or coal series needle coke and coal tar pitch. According to its quality indicators, it is divided into conventional graphite electrodes, high-power graphite electrodes, and ultra-high-power graphite electrodes. Graphite electrodes can conduct current and generate electricity. Due to the characteristics of high-temperature resistance, high conductivity, oxidation resistance, high mechanical strength, and low impurity content, graphite electrodes, as an ideal industrial material, are widely used in electric furnace steelmaking, steel refining outside the furnace, and the smelting of industrial raw materials such as industrial silicon, yellow phosphorus, glass, and silicon carbide.

Market Overview:

The latest research study on the global Graphite Electrode market finds that the global Graphite Electrode market reached a value of USD 9175.76 million in 2022. It’s expected that the market will achieve USD 13962.0 million by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.25% during the forecast period.

Influence of COVID-19 Outbreak on Graphite Electrode Industry Development

At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 disease began to spread globally, and major countries in the world have implemented foot bans and work suspension orders. As of November 2021, more than 250 million people worldwide have been infected with COVID-19. The outbreak and spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic have had a major impact on the health, production, and life of people around the world, as well as the economic development of countries and regions. Except for the medical supplies and life support product industries, most industries have been greatly affected. The global graphite electrode market has also been greatly affected.
In the first half of 2020, due to the slowdown in global economic growth caused by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the demand and sales price of graphite electrodes in the global market have declined. Graphite electrode companies in the industry have frequently reduced production, stopped production, and lost money.
From the demand side, the epidemic has caused significant damage to the steel industry. The sharp decline in international trade has had a negative impact on the growth of graphite electrodes. Production shutdowns, supply chain restrictions, procurement management, labor shortages, and border blockades implemented to fight and contain the epidemic have adversely affected the construction industry. The slowdown in production in construction and other industries has directly affected the adoption of various steel products, thereby affecting the graphite electrode market.
On the supply side, the global blockade in 2020 and the continued restrictions in 2021 have disrupted the supply chain and brought challenges to manufacturers in the graphite electrode market. Intense competition, pricing issues and shifts in consumer preferences will continue to put downward pressure on supplier profit margins. Affected by the epidemic, many have implemented controls on domestic traffic and the movement of people, and imposed restrictions on imported goods. This has led to varying degrees of logistics interruption, cargo accumulation and transportation delays. At present, the logistics industry of various countries is gradually resuming operations in accordance with different national policies. It is expected that after the epidemic is further controlled, it will basically return to normal.
Although Covid-19 has brought challenges to the industry, as the coverage of the Covid-19 vaccine increases and the epidemic situation further improves, the development of technology and the increase in demand will promote the development of the industry. In the long run, Covid-19 will not hinder the long-term development of the graphite electrode market.

The development of electric arc furnace steelmaking

The requirements of infrastructure construction for the quality of crude steel continue to increase, and the demand for refined crude steel outside the furnace continues to increase, which in turn promotes the increase in demand for graphite electrodes. With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, electric arc furnace steelmaking has been actively encouraged by the government as an important development direction for steelmaking due to its high environmental benefits. The development of electric arc furnace steelmaking will bring demand for graphite electrodes. As iron and steel smelting enterprises gradually choose electric arc furnace steelmaking as their main steelmaking process, the proportion of electric arc furnace steelmaking will increase, which will help reduce the overall fixed asset investment and production costs of the iron and steel smelting industry, and reduce steelmaking waste. The resources of the iron and steel smelting industry improve the overall economic benefits of the iron and steel industry. In addition, the increasing demand for anti-corrosion products for oil wells and pipelines in the oil and gas field has further increased the use of electric arc furnaces, thereby boosting the demand for these electrodes. More and more steel companies are turning to electric arc furnace technology to produce steel. As graphite is an important part of electric arc furnaces, the demand for graphite electrodes has increased, which has promoted the development of the global graphite electrode market.

The rising cost of electric arc furnace steelmaking

As one of the main downstream applications of the graphite electrode industry, the rising cost of electric arc furnace steelmaking will directly restrict the increase in the demand for electric arc furnace steelmaking, thereby limiting the expansion of the market demand for graphite electrodes. As the main raw material required for electric arc furnace steelmaking, the supply and price of scrap steel are the main factors affecting the further development of electric arc furnace steelmaking, and are also key factors affecting the increase in demand for graphite electrodes. Affected by the rising demand for scrap steel, the market price of scrap steel has risen, and the cost of electric furnace steelmaking may therefore continue to increase. If the value continues to decrease in the future, the economic benefits of electric arc furnace steelmaking will gradually be lower than that of converter steelmaking. The iron and steel smelting industry will reduce electric furnace steelmaking one after another and choose converter steelmaking again, which will hit the market demand for graphite electrodes.

Region Overview:

China had the highest growth rate of all regions.

Company Overview:

GrafTech International is one of the major players operating in the Graphite Electrode market, holding a share of 18.07% in 2023.

GrafTech International

GrafTech International is a leading manufacturer of high-quality graphite electrode products essential to the production of Electric Arc Furnace (or EAF) steel and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

Showa Denko Carbon

Showa Denko Carbon Division (SDK) is the world's largest supplier of ultra-high power graphite electrodes. SDK can effectively provide high-quality graphite electrodes for global electrical steel manufacturers. SDK provides complete graphite electrode size and value-added technical services.

Segmentation Overview:

As for product types, the Ultra-high power (UHP) segment held the largest market share in 2022.

Application Overview:

By application, the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) segment occupied the biggest share from 2018 to 2022.

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)

Electric arc furnace uses the high temperature generated by the electrode arc to smelt ores and metals. For smelting metals, electric arc furnaces are more flexible than other steelmaking furnaces. They can effectively remove impurities such as sulfur and phosphorus. The furnace temperature is easy to control, and the equipment occupies a small area. It is suitable for the smelting of high-quality alloy steel. Electric arc furnace uses electric energy as the main energy source. Electric energy draws an arc through the graphite electrode and the charge discharge, generating a high temperature of 2000-6000 degrees Celsius, and melting the scrap steel raw materials by means of arc radiation, temperature convection and heat conduction.

Ladle Furnace (LF)

Ladle furnace is an out-of-furnace refining technology that uses electric arc heating under vacuum conditions. It is refined by placing molten steel initially smelted in a general steelmaking furnace in a special ladle. The main purpose of the ladle furnace is to increase the temperature of the steel, control the chemical composition between tapping and casting, remove and/or modify inclusions, and act as a buffer in the smelting plant logistics.

Key Companies in the global Graphite Electrode market covered in Chapter 3:

RBG
Energoprom
Jilin Carbon
KFCC
DanCarbon
Basan Datong Yu Lin De RongXing Group
SANGRAF International Inc.
Fangda Carbon New Material Co.,Ltd
HEG Limited
Tokai Carbon
Graphite India
Showa Denko Carbon
SEC Carbon Limited
GrafTech International
Nippon Carbon
Nantong Yangzi Corbon Co. Ltd COVA
Mitsubishi
CIMM Group

In Chapter 4 and Chapter 14.2, on the basis of types, the Graphite Electrode market from 2018 to 2029 is primarily split into:

Ultra-high power (UHP)
High power (HP)
Regular power (RP)

In Chapter 5 and Chapter 14.3, on the basis of Downstream Industry, the Graphite Electrode market from 2018 to 2029 covers:

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)
Ladle Furnace (LF)

Geographically, the detailed analysis of consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate, historic and forecast (2018-2029) of the following regions are covered in Chapter 8 to Chapter 14:

North America (United States, Canada)
Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden)
Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia)
Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina)
Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa)