The Needle Coke Market is projected to register a strong CAGR during the forecast period (2026-2031).
The demand for needle coke is steadily increasing. This is because the material is vital for the development of ultra-high-power (UHP) graphite electrodes employed in electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. Additionally, needle coke is also used in lithium-ion battery anodes for electric vehicles (EVs).
The expansion of the needle coke market depends on the increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries, as high-purity needle coke is one of the main raw materials used in making synthetic graphite anodes. Battery manufacturers are scaling up cell production as a result of global electric vehicle adoption, which is being aided by government incentives, emission rules, and charging infrastructure expansion. Hence, the direct consumption of battery-grade needle coke is expected to rise. In 2025, TDK Corporation's Advanced Technologies Lithium-ion (Li-ion) Battery Manufacturing Plant was inaugurated at Sohna, Haryana. The plant will produce approximately 200 million battery packs every year, accounting for almost 40% of India's annual consumption of 500 million packs.
The needle coke market is impacted by environmental, industrial, and trade regulations set by major authorities in the leading regions. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States controls the emissions and waste from petroleum refining and coal tar processing that produce needle coke. Similarly, in Europe, REACH and the European Commission's directives are imposed on hazardous substances and processes that produce large amounts of carbon.
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) of China is responsible for environmental approvals and emission standards for coke and graphite-related facilities, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan oversees industrial safety and energy efficiency. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India lays down the permissible levels of air and water pollution emissions for carbon material manufacturers. Altogether, these regulations determine the changes in capacity, production costs, and technology upgrades that the needle coke market worldwide undertakes.
Needle Coke Market Highlights
Rising demand for electric vehicles.
Several factors that promote the need for needle coke products, such as premium and super premium grade needle coke, and applications related to graphite electrodes and lithium-ion batteries are driving the worldwide market for needle coke market. For instance, as per the latest insights released in May 2023 by the International Energy Association, sales of electric vehicles, particularly electric cars, sales have increased dramatically over the previous three years in Europe, rising from 1.4 million in 2020 to 2.3 million in 2021 and 2.7 million in 2022. Special carbon compounds, such as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, are also made with the help of needle coke. As a result, there will be a rise in the demand for electric cars and their by-products, such as needle coke.
Growth in Energy Storage Systems
The growth of energy storage systems (ESS) is a major factor driving the global needle coke market, mainly driven by the increasing usage of lithium-ion batteries. While countries are rapidly encouraging the use of renewable energy sources like solar and wind, the demand for large-scale grid storage solutions to handle the intermittency of these energies and secure the power supply is growing. ????????Renewable???????? energy sources accounted for almost half (49.3%) of the net electricity production in the EU in the third quarter of 2025. This is a 3.8% increase compared to 47.5% in the corresponding quarter of ????????2024.
Lithium-ion batteries, which use anodes made from synthetic graphite obtained from needle coke, are the leading choice of technology for large-scale as well as local energy storage systems. The rapid expansion of ESS installation is supported not only by official programs aimed at clean energy and decarbonization but also by falling prices of batteries and progress in energy management technologies.
In the coming years, the energy storage sector will be a major new outlet for needle coke, thus broadening its usage beyond the conventional domain of steelmaking. This will make it a crucial element in the global shift to the green energy infrastructure of the future.
By Application: Graphite Electrode
By application, the Needle Coke Market is segmented into graphite electrode, lithium-ion batteries, and others. The use of needle coke is primarily for graphite electrodes in the U.S., where they are necessary for electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. EAFs use graphite electrodes to conduct electricity to generate the high heat needed to melt scrap steel and other raw materials. The federal definition of an EAF describes it as a furnace using carbon electrodes to create molten steel by heating charge materials.
Graphite electrodes are continuously consumed throughout the steelmaking process, and their performance directly affects the efficiency of the furnace and the quality of the steel. There are no commercially available materials that combine extreme electrical conductivity and the ability to withstand very high temperatures in an EAF, making graphite electrodes irreplaceable for this application. Needle coke is the primary feedstock for the production of high-quality graphite electrodes; it is a low-impurity crystalline form of carbon.
This figure shows an increase in U.S. natural graphite mine production from 73,900 metric tons in 2024 to 79,000 metric tons in 2025, reflecting the gradual strengthening of the domestic graphite supply. This is relevant for the graphite electrode segment of the needle coke market because higher graphite production aligns with rising demand from electric arc furnace steelmaking and advanced industrial applications. As steel output increasingly relies on electric arc furnaces, the requirement for high-quality graphite electrodes continues to grow. Since needle coke is the core feedstock for producing synthetic graphite electrodes, expanding graphite activity supports sustained demand for needle coke in the U.S. industrial materials ecosystem.
Figure: U.S. Natural Graphite Mine Production, in metric tons (2024–2025)
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Publications Warehouse
The United States needle coke market is a niche segment within the carbon material industry. Although it is relatively small in terms of volume, it holds significant strategic importance due to its close correlation with domestic steel production and growing activity in battery manufacturing. Needle coke is consumed predominately in the manufacture of graphite electrodes for electric arc furnaces (EAF), which are becoming an increasingly larger portion of overall U.S. steel production. This shift is attributed to their low energy consumption and high use of recycled scrap materials.
Demand for needle coke is primarily linked to two main markets: Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Steelmaking and Lithium-Ion Battery Electrification of Transportation. Based on the most recent federal geologic reports from 2024, roughly 72% of raw steel produced in the United States was made using EAFs. Therefore, as the structural shift toward furnace-based technology using graphite electrodes as feedstock continues, indicating that the demand for needle coke will be sustained throughout 2025.
Graphite electrodes for steelmaking in EAFs consume large amount of petroleum needle coke due to their low thermal expansion and high conductivity, key characteristics that enable reliable operation of EAFs. The prominence of EAF-based production in the U.S. steelmaking landscape will continue well.
On the battery side, the National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries will drive the development of technologies that promote opportunities to employ U.S.-developed lithium-ion battery supply chains, thus indirectly impacting demand for needle coke. As the supply chain for lithium-ion batteries in the United States expands over the next decade, the quantity of synthetic graphite used in advanced anode materials will also increase concurrently with increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries.
Figure: Apparent Consumption of Natural Graphite in the United States, in metric tons (2024–2025)
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Publications Warehouse
This figure shows an increase in apparent U.S. natural graphite consumption from 65,200 metric tons in 2024 to 71,000 metric tons in 2025, indicating strengthening demand from steel, refractories, and battery-related applications. This trend is significant for the United States needle coke market because higher graphite consumption directly supports growth in synthetic graphite production, where needle coke is a primary feedstock. As domestic industries increasingly require high-purity and performance-grade graphite for electric arc furnace electrodes and lithium-ion battery anodes, sustained growth in graphite demand reinforces the strategic role of needle coke in the U.S. advanced materials supply chain.
List of Companies
Phillips 66 Company
Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation
Sojitz Corporation
Sumitomo Corporation
Nippon Steel Corporation
GrafTech International Ltd.
China Petrochemical Corporation
Asbury Advanced Materials
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd
China National Petroleum Company (CNPC)
Posco MC Materials
Key players, such as Phillips 66 Company, Mitsubishi Chemical Group, Sojitz Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation, GrafTech International, China Petrochemical Corporation, Asbury Advanced Materials, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, CNPC, and Posco MC Materials, contribute to the market’s growth. These companies are the major contributors to the market through high-purity production, advanced processing, strategic trading, and a close relationship between graphite electrode and lithium-ion battery supply chains, thus sustaining steelmaking and energy storage applications worldwide.