The market for anode graphite crucibles used in the production of lithium-ion batteries is set to exceed 7 billion RMB in China in 2022, with a growth rate exceeding 60% year-on-year. This surge is primarily driven by several key factors.
Firstly, there is a robust demand downstream, with an expected shipment volume of anode materials reaching over 1.2 million tons in 2022, driving the demand for anode graphite crucibles.
Secondly, the proportion of artificial graphite is expected to exceed 85%, leading to an increase in the matching ratio of anode graphite, thereby driving the shipment growth of regenerated crucibles.
Thirdly, the requirements for the rate performance of anodes in lithium-ion batteries are further increasing, leading to an increase in the matching ratio of carbonization processes, thereby driving the shipment growth of graphite crucibles.
Looking at the market for anode graphite crucibles in the first half of 2022, several trends are evident. In the first quarter, due to the relaxation of production and electricity restrictions during the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the utilization rate of graphite production capacity increased, leading to a supply shortage of regenerated crucibles (used for graphitization) in Q1. In the second quarter, the growth rate of sales of new energy vehicles downstream was affected by the epidemic, leading to a slowdown in sales growth, which eased the supply-demand contradiction in the regenerated crucible market.
In terms of manufacturing technology, compared with the Acheson furnace process, the box furnace process consumes less energy and uses less auxiliary materials, reducing the cost of graphitization by more than 30%, making it the mainstream process for low-end anode materials graphitization. However, due to the fact that the graphitization degree of the box furnace is less than 92%, it cannot meet the requirements of manufacturing high-end anode products. The downstream lithium-ion battery's requirements for performance such as energy density and rate performance will drive an increase in the proportion of high-end anode products.
GGII expects that in the next 3-5 years, the Acheson furnace process will still be the mainstream process for anode graphitization, and the regenerated crucibles used in conjunction with it are expected to usher in a new development cycle.
Post time: Mar-16-2024