Top 12 graphite anode manufacturers in China

Carbon materials are the most widely used anode materials for lithium batteries, which can be classified into graphite materials (natural graphite, artificial graphite, composite graphite, MCMB), graphene and disordered carbon materials (hard carbon, soft carbon). Among them, artificial graphite has high specific capacity (reversible capacity 340~360mAh/g), low and stable lithium intercalation potential (0.25V~0.005V), cheap price (30~80 yuan/kg), excellent cycle The core advantages such as lifespan (up to thousands of times) are currently the commercialized anode materials with the best comprehensive performance.

In this article, we will introduce the detailed information about the top 12 graphite anode manufacturers in China, namely, they are BTR, Shanshan Technology, Jiangxi Zichen, Zhongke, Kaijin, Shangtai Tech, Xiangfenghua, Dongdao , Hubei Kuntian, BCC, JHN and Sinuo.

1. Natural graphite vs artificial graphite - compare from 4 perspectives

• From the perspective of energy density, natural graphite has higher gram capacity and compaction density;
• From the perspective of cycle performance, natural graphite has many surface defects, serious side reactions, poor compatibility with electrolyte, and cycle performance is not as good as artificial graphite;
• From the perspective of expansion rate, natural graphite has higher crystallinity, obvious anisotropy, and greater volume change after lithium intercalation;
• From the perspective of cost, the price of natural graphite is more than 10% cheaper than artificial graphite, the main reason is that natural graphite does not use high energy consumption graphitization process

2. Hard carbon vs soft carbon - which is better as anode

• Hard carbon: refers to a carbon material that is difficult to graphitize above 2500°C. It is named for its high mechanical hardness. It is generally obtained after heat treatment at 500-1200°C. However, this type of material has a high irreversible capacity for the first time, and there is a voltage hysteresis. and other shortcomings. At present, the main application of hard carbon can be directly used as negative electrode material or mixed with graphite to improve the fast charging ability.
• Soft carbon: refers to carbon materials that are easy to graphitize above 2500°C, such as needle coke, petroleum coke, carbon fiber, carbon microspheres, etc., which have a low degree of graphitization and good rate performance, but low specific capacity (250~300mAh/ g), the output voltage is low, and there is no obvious charging and discharging platform. Such materials are generally not directly used as negative electrode materials, but as raw materials for artificial graphite, or as coatings to improve the conductivity and kinetic properties of materials.

According to statistics from authoritative organizations, in 2022, the global shipment of anode materials will be 1.556 million tons. From the perspective of product classification, artificial graphite is the mainstream, accounting for nearly 80%, natural graphite accounts for nearly 20%, and other anode materials account for a very small proportion.

3. Top 12 graphite anode manufacturers in China in 2023

In terms of sales volume, the top six graphite anode manufacturers are BTR, Shanshan Technology, Jiangxi Zichen, Zhongke, Kaijin, and Shangtai Tech, accounting for about 79.2% of the total, of which the top three manufacturers shipped.

① BTR

Main products: Mainly engaged in lithium-ion battery negative electrode materials (natural graphite, artificial graphite, silicon materials), positive electrode materials (high nickel NCA, NCM) and graphene materials, has now become a comprehensive enterprise focusing on negative electrode materials and parallel development of positive electrode materials.

Profile: The company has been cultivating negative electrode materials for many years, starting with natural graphite, and has been continuously supplying to in Samsung and Panasonic for many years, representing the highest level of natural graphite in the industry and has an absolute advantage. In 2009, the batch supply of artificial graphite was realized, which is mainly used in power batteries, consumer electronics batteries and energy storage batteries. In 2013, the batch supply of silicon-based materials was realized, mainly used in power batteries and consumer electronics batteries. Now it has become a comprehensive enterprise focusing on negative electrode materials and parallel development of positive electrode materials.

② Shanshan Technology

Main products: The company's core products include artificial graphite, natural graphite, mesocarbon microspheres, silicon-carbon composite materials, etc.

Profile: It is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research, development, production and sales of lithium battery anode materials. In 2003, it entered the field of lithium battery cathode materials (Shanshan Energy), and in 2005 it entered the field of lithium battery electrolyte (Dongguan Shanshan).

The company has rich experience in high-precision product research and development, graphitization technology, raw material development and evaluation and other technologies, and has independent core intellectual property rights such as material granulation, surface modification, spheroidization, graphitization, etc. The relationship between particle shape and processing performance , The relationship between particle size and magnification, the relationship between specific surface area and fast charging, the degree of bonding and the relationship between expansion have achieved great results.

③ Jiangxi Zichen

Main products: Lithium-ion battery anode materials, 8C and Gx series artificial graphite products

Profile: Jiangxi Zichen was established in 2012. It is mainly engaged in lithium-ion battery anode materials and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Putailai. Jiangxi Zichen focuses on high-end artificial graphite products, with a price of RMB 60,000 to RMB 80,000 per ton. The utilization rate of production capacity has been maintained at a high level of more than 80%, or even 140%. With its superior technology, Zichen successfully overtook Shanghai Shanshan and became the world's number one artificial graphite in just a few years.

④ Zhongke

Main products: Composite artificial graphite product models, fast charging, long life, and various gram capacity models.

Profile: In 2017, Zhongke formed a dual-main business pattern of "magnetoelectric equipment + lithium battery anode". The company's artificial graphite cycle life can reach up to 8,000 times, and the fast charging product can reach up to 8C. The company has made an all-round layout around the six core technologies of material raw material development, structural design, coating technology, modification process, interface research, and new negative electrodes, forming an advanced and complete industrial design system for negative electrode materials.

⑤ Kaijin

Main products: Artificial graphite, composite graphite and graphitized products.

Profile: The company focuses on the R&D, production and sales of lithium-ion battery anode materials such as artificial graphite and composite graphite.

Among them, artificial graphite is based on petroleum coke and needle coke. It is a graphite negative electrode product formed after crushing, shaping, granulation and graphitization. It has excellent properties such as different gradient energy densities, high dynamics, and long cycle life;

Composite graphite is a graphite anode material formed by surface modification, graphitization, carbonization coating or compounding with artificial graphite with different properties, which is based on natural graphite. Its performance can take into account the advantages of artificial graphite and natural graphite;

Graphitized products are mainly graphitized coke products generated after graphitization processing.

By the end of 2022, the company will have a production capacity of about 90,000 tons of anode materials and 100,000 tons of graphitization. In the next few years, the production capacity of Kaijin graphite is expected to accelerate. By the end of 2025, it is expected to have a negative electrode material production capacity of 590,000 tons.

⑥ Shangtai Tech

Main products: Mainly focus on artificial graphite anode materials, the terminal is mainly used in power and energy storage system, deeply integrate the traditional carbon industry roasting process and graphitization process, the company's graphite materials for the market are mainly low-end artificial graphite.

Profile: The company was originally engaged in graphitization processing services, and carried out the production and sales of carbon products such as diamond carbon sources. In 2017, the company began to transform into independent research and development, integrated production, processing and sales of lithium battery anode materials. In recent years, it has continued to expand downstream customers, and has successively entered the supply chain of well-known downstream lithium battery manufacturers such as Ningde Times and Guoxuan Hi-Tech. The company's market share continues to rise, and the company's market share in China's anode market exceeded 8% in 22 years.

⑦ Xiangfenghua

Main products: The main products include natural graphite and artificial graphite.

Profile: Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, it is an advanced supplier of lithium battery anode materials in China. The company has two production bases for graphite anode materials. Among the company's main products, natural graphite includes DT-1, DT-2, etc., and artificial graphite product models include X6, X8, etc. Among them, natural graphite DT-1 is supplied to LG Chem, and artificial graphite X6 is used in BYD's full range of pure electric vehicles.

⑧ Dongdao

Main products: Main products include artificial graphite, natural graphite, recarburizer, etc.

Profile: Dongdao focuses on R&D, production and sales of anode materials and electrolytes for lithium-ion power batteries. Dongdao Group has five holding subsidiaries. Among them, Juxin New Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guangdong Dongdao established in 2006, is the inventor of spherical natural graphite precursors. The spherical graphite automatic production line developed by it is similar to traditional technology Compared with the ratio, energy consumption has been reduced by 50%, and production capacity has been increased by 30%, which has greatly reduced the production cost of natural graphite, and the company has also taken the lead in formulating the Chinese national standard for "spherical graphite".

⑨ Hebei Kuntian

Main products: main electrode graphitization and recarburizer processing.

Profile: It is a professional manufacturer of potassium battery anode materials and a high-tech enterprise integrating production, R&D and sales. In 2012, Hebei Kuntian successfully developed a box-type purification furnace and obtained a patent, becoming the first company in China to use a box-type furnace to produce negative electrode materials. 2-3 times of the furnace type, without crucible and filling material, the cost of auxiliary materials is greatly reduced, and the comprehensive power consumption per ton is about 50% lower than that of the Acheson furnace. The unique box furnace production process ensures that the furnace temperature can be maintained control and uniformity.

⑩ BCC

Main products: The company's products mainly include needle coke, negative electrode materials (graphitization), iron phosphate, lithium iron phosphate, lithium iron manganese phosphate, battery grade nickel/cobalt/manganese sulfate and lithium carbonate, etc., which are widely used in electric furnace steelmaking, New energy, new materials and other related industries.

Profile: The company is mainly engaged in the R&D and production of new lithium battery materials, nanomaterials, resource utilization of waste lithium batteries and other products. The products are widely used in electric furnace steelmaking, new energy, new materials and other related industries. The company gives full play to its own R&D and production management advantages, takes advantage of Ningxia's local resource and energy advantages, and implements the entire industrial chain positioning of lithium battery upstream materials, forming a unique market competitive advantage.

⑪ JHN

Main products: Artificial graphite, high-capacity silicon oxide-based negative electrode, sodium electrode negative electrode material

Profile: It is a professional manufacturer integrating R&D, production and sales of lithium-ion battery anode materials. Has 18 years of lithium battery material technology accumulation. From 2019 to 2022, Jinhuineng's negative electrode production capacity has rapidly expanded to 130,000 tons. At present, the company has wholly-owned subsidiaries such as Shenzhen Jinrun, Sichuan Jintaineng, Ya'an JHN, Chongqing JHN, and Sichuan Jinyaneng.

⑫ Sinuo

Main products: Artificial Graphite, Composite Graphite, Silicon Oxygen Carbon Anode.

Profile: It is a high-tech enterprise specializing in R&D, production and sales of lithium-ion battery anode materials. The company has always been committed to the research and application of artificial graphite anode materials. It has a number of core technologies in graphite shaping, pore making and modification. A variety of anode material products have been developed and widely used in the field of electric vehicles. In addition, the company is also stepping up its deployment in hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plates, conductive activated carbon and other new materials.

4. Summary

Based on its excellent cycle performance and low expansion characteristics, artificial graphite has established its dominant position as anode material. The top three positions of BTR, Shanshan tech, and Jiangxi Zichen are hard to shake, representing China's natural graphite and artificial graphite respectively top level. However, artificial graphite requires ultra-high temperature for graphitization. More than 50% of its cost comes from the graphitization process, and the electricity price accounts for as much as 25%. Therefore, most of the graphitization production capacity is distributed in Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Shanxi, and Qinghai, where electricity prices are relatively cheap. In addition, the structural transformation and process upgrade of the graphitization furnace is also one of the important directions for continuously reducing the cost of artificial graphite in the future.

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