The special graphite market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.24% during the forecast period (2024-2029).
The main factor driving the special graphite market is the increasing demand from industries such as automotive, electronics, consumer goods, photovoltaic, etc. Industrial uses of graphite in the field of renewable energy are expanding. Batteries are needed in the renewable sector for storing clean energy from solar and wind power. The fast-growing sector of the graphite market is providing components for the solar and wind industries and battery usage. The latest exploration of the green energy sector is hydrogen fuel cells, which need graphite for some of their critical components. The graphite market is supplying necessary hydrogen fuel cell components.
The demand for electric vehicles has been soaring for the last few years. With design improvement, favorable policy changes, reforms, and growing concern for carbon dioxide emissions, the need for batteries for electric vehicles will increase in the upcoming years. The sales of battery electric vehicle cars worldwide in 2021 were 4,700,000, which expanded to 7,300,000 in 2022 and 9,500,000 in 2023. These numbers for the battery electric vehicles segment vans were 170,000 in 2022, 310,000 in 2022, and 460,000 in 2023. The substantial positive demand aligns with the ambitious government goals for carbon emission targets.
The demand for electronic devices is rising with the digitalization of communication and data storage. The need for more devices in various segments of life has created the demand for graphite as it is used in the batteries of the devices. Globally, 78% of the world's population owns a mobile phone, 88% in the region of the Americas, 75% in the Asia-Pacific, and 93% in Europe. These figures show the importance of mobile devices in people’s lives.
Additionally, a significant number of businesses use Information and Communication Technology access tools in their work. 77.52% of businesses in OECD countries had access to these tools, and similarly, 78.10% in the European Union (27 countries) had these tools since 2023. These numbers give importance to electronic devices in individual and business lives.
According to the International Energy Agency, the renewable power capacity additions will expand in the coming years, with solar PV and wind accounting for a record 96%. According to the data, solar PV was 374.9 GW in 2023 and is projected to reach 539.6 GW in 2028. Similarly, the wind power is projected to be 107.8 GW in 2023 and is projected to reach 167.3 GW in 2028.
These developments would require batteries for storage, which would increase the sector's need for special graphite. The demand for special graphite will increase in the coming years to provide components for the energy markets and to store renewable energy.
The North American region contributes 18.76% of GDP based on PPP, the share of the world, with a population of 513.43 million. This massive contribution to the global economy is due to the developed economies of the United States and Canada. The United States and Canada's developed economies demand electronic goods and the renewable energy market segment. The renewable energy sector has a demand for battery storage capacity, especially for solar and wind. The United States is in a continuous expansion plan for Solar PV, the country has 20.1 GW capacity in 2022, which increased to 27.2 GW in 2023, and is expected to be 31 GW in 2024. The country has included new funding for solar PV in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Canada showed an increase in the sales of battery electric vehicles from 91,000 in 2022 to 130,000 in 2023. Similarly, the USA showed an increase in demand from 800,000 battery electric vehicles in 2022 to 1,100,000 in 2023. The demand for these electric vehicles comes with the demand for graphite that is used in the electric batteries.
Further, the leading players are establishing manufacturing plants in the region to meet the growing demand. In March 2024, Graphite One Inc. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Graphite One (Alaska), Inc., selected Ohio’s “Voltage Valley” as the site of the Company’s graphite anode manufacturing plant. It entered into a land lease agreement for a 50-year term. It is expected that G1 AK’s Ohio facility would manufacture synthetic graphite anode active materials.
They envisioned expanding it to ~180,000 MTA by 2030 to meet the growing demand. This facility would primarily source raw materials from biomass. This development is in response to the burgeoning demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS) battery capacities.
The company initiated the production of +48 mesh (jumbo size) SuperFlake® graphite. It planned to make multiple Battery Anode Facilities (BAFs) for use in lithium-ion batteries for EV applications. The first BAF will be in Mauritius (the “Mauritius BAF”), and there are plans to establish BAFs in the European Union, the United Kingdom, North America, and other countries.
| Report Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Study Period | 2021 to 2031 |
| Historical Data | 2021 to 2024 |
| Base Year | 2025 |
| Forecast Period | 2026 – 2031 |
| Report Metric | Details |
| Growth Rate | CAGR of 9.24% from 2024 to 2029 |
| Study Period | 2019 to 2029 |
| Historical Data | 2019 to 2022 |
| Base Year | 2024 |
| Forecast Period | 2024 – 2029 |
| Forecast Unit (Value) | USD Billion |
| Segments Covered |
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| Companies Covered |
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| Regions Covered | North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific |
| Customization Scope | Free report customization with purchase |
The Special graphite market is segmented and analyzed as follows: