Graphite Demand for EV Sales has started to grow over the
past few years, and is projected to accelerate going forward. The growth of natural
graphite consumption reflects the expanding market for EV sales and Li-ion batteries.
Because of the requirement for high purity for batteries, part of the
graphite used for Li-ion anodes is synthetic, manufactured from petroleum coke and pitch
at high cost. 70% to 80% of the graphite used in
Li-ion batteries is natural flake graphite which must be milled and purified to a high quality. |
Graphite Demand for EV Batteries
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Global Flake Graphite Consumption by Use
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Flake Graphite
Consumption will uncouple from its dependency on steelmaking. Although the base
use will always be for refractories, crucibles and foundry facings in the metal
industries, Li-ion batteries will grow to be the dominant market for natural flake
graphite.
According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the battery sector has
grown from 9% to 18% of the market for graphite from 2012 to 2016, a doubling of the
fraction over four years. Per Roskill, the battery market demand will exceed the
refractory sector by 2022, and batteries will be nearly 50% of the overall demand
for flake graphite.
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Graphite Demand will undoubtedly increase as a result of the
need for increased raw materials for EV batteries.
Projections by IEA, UBS and Roskill all support an increase demand over
the next decade for EV batteries by factors of 10x to 40x, and this translates to markedly
greater demand for natural graphite.
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![]() Commodity Demand Change for a 100% EV World
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