Graphite Outlook 2021: Demand from Battery Segment to GrowLINK https://investingnews.com/daily/resource-investing/battery-metals-investing/graphite-investing/graphite-outlook/ Below a small extract from the article (published january 11th, 2021)
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence expects natural graphite anode chemistries to increase their share of the anode market alongside silicon and LTO technologies. The firm also expects silicon to continue to expand its presence as an additive in the midterm.
“Silicon anode technology still requires considerable development before it becomes a primary element of commercial EV anodes,” he said. “This leaves natural and synthetic graphite as central inputs in the anode market for the foreseeable future, with producers increasingly blending the two the best-performing anode chemistries.”
Roskill also sees the graphite industry becoming increasingly focussed on the battery market, with growth opportunity for both synthetic and natural.
“Battery demand for (raw material) graphite could grow by around 19 percent per year using Roskill’s base case for lithium-ion battery growth,” Shaw said.
Electrodes will remain by far the largest application for synthetic graphite, she added, but demand for natural graphite in batteries could exceed that from refractories by almost three times by 2030.
Roskill is expecting total graphite demand to grow around 5 to 6 percent per year over the next 10 years.
Commenting on factors to watch, Roskill is expecting environmental costs to continue to play an important role in future supply chain trends and price developments, including inspections/closures in China, a call for sustainable battery products and the effects of changing marine fuels on raw material availability for synthetic graphite.
“COVID-19 is only one of the major factors affecting the industry to 2030,” Shaw said.
Miller also touched on how environmental, social and governance issues are becoming more incorporated in the graphite supply chain as producers outside China look to develop environmentally friendly purification methods and product lines in increasingly integrated facilities, encompassing more steps of the value chain.
“This is another side effect of greatly improving traceability and more likely influenced market preference towards natural graphite, which is less energy intensive than its synthetic counterpart,” he said.