Graphite: Technologies and Global Markets

Report Scope

The report covers the global graphite markets, providing the market information for 2015 and 2016 and forecasts for 2021.

The scope of the report is coverage of the four graphite market segments – refractory and metallurgy, electrical, technical, and the rest – analyzed by application and geography. Estimated values used are based on manufacturers’ total revenues.

Refractory and metallurgy markets cover those applications that make use of the high temperature stability of graphite. Electrical applications are those that tap into the high electrical conductivity of purer grades of graphite. Technical markets make use of the strength properties, lubrication and radiation absorption. For these segments, we report the status and changes happening in the markets.

The graphite market can also be segmented into natural and synthetic graphite markets. One of the focus areas is the development of natural graphite mining and application, driven largely by the lithium–ion battery markets that are fundamentally changing the structure of the graphite industry.

For the synthetic graphite market, BCC Research covers the nature of individual application markets, focusing on graphite electrodes. Another application covered in detail is cathodes for aluminum smelting.

In terms of geographic segmentation of the market, the report provides detailed statistics of mining data as well as trade data. Trade statistics for graphite exports and imports for various countries are analyzed in detail, and the past growth rates are provided. Geographical segmentation for numerous application markets is provided.

The large change in natural graphite mining is going to shift the balances of trade for a large number of countries and these changes are also discussed in this report. China has been the market leader in the segment. Australian and Canadian companies will make strong inroads into the market in the coming years, and could command a quarter of the market in 2021.

One specific chapter covers the graphite material industry characteristics. In this chapter, the material properties of graphite that make it unique are detailed, and the market structure is discussed. Both natural and synthetic graphite markets are detailed.

A chapter specific to U.S. and European markets is provided. This should be of interest to companies active in these markets and also for graphite companies wanting to sell into these regions.

A later chapter reviews the details of the applications for graphite including well established markets such as electrodes, cathodes, carbon brushes, alkaline batteries, pencils, and friction; as well as the upcoming and faster growing applications such as lithium–ion batteries and nuclear. Each application segment is reviewed in detail to show the market statistics, expected growth rates, technological changes, mergers, acquisitions and sales of companies if any, as well as any unique characteristic of each industry.

Patents and intellectual property aspects of the graphite market are detailed in a separate chapter. Here, a review of the number of patents granted by the U.S. Patent Office is analyzed chronologically. In another section of this chapter, all individual players actively developing technologies are discussed. The companies that are in the forefront of such technology and application development, such as Tesla are specifically analyzed in detail.

The last chapter of the report covers individual companies that are active in the graphite market. This chapter covers not only the nature and size of each of the operating companies, but also provides the financial data for each company wherever available, and the economic analysis for the graphite mines that are newly being developed. Address and contact details for the market participants are provided.

Analyst Credentials

Vijay Subramanian has a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Cincinnati, and extensive experience in the field of materials and their global markets. He worked for more than a decade in the automotive industry in the U.S., and later in India, and owns several U.S. patents. Dr. Subramanian has authored reports for BCC Research since 2012. Dr. Subramanian lives with his wife and two daughters in Kochi, India.