SYNTHETIC GRAPHITE MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Global Synthetic Graphite Market Drivers:

Growing demand for electric vehicles to propel market growth

The production of synthetic graphite is driven by the rising demand for electric-vehicle batteries. These batteries rely on an anode made of graphite, which passes a lithium ion from the cathode to the battery's surface. This allows the battery to store a higher quantity of lithium ions than a traditional lead-acid or nickel-metal hydride battery. According to EV volumes data, in 2021, global EV sales reached 6, 75 million units, up 108% from 2020. Passenger cars, light trucks, and light commercial vehicles are all included in this book. EVs (BEV and PHEV) accounted for 8.3% of worldwide light vehicle sales in 2018, compared to 4.2% in 2020.

Increasing demand for high purity synthetic graphite to foster market growth

High purity synthetic graphite is widely used in various industrial application. The usage of high purity graphite gives good results in the field of industrial manufacturing. In lubrication, conductivity, metallurgy, and other industrial production domains, high purity graphite is widely used. This includes Lithium battery industry, isotropic nuclear graphite industry, artificial diamond industry, military graphite bomb industry and flexible graphite industry.

Global Synthetic Graphite Market Opportunities:

Growing investment in the field of research and development of graphite is expected to offer significant growth opportunities. For instance, the European Union invested USD 1.3 billion in the Graphene Flagship, a consortium of academic and commercial researchers. The UK government has provided GBP 235 million (USD 353 million) to fund a graphene research center.    

Graphene is being increasingly used as a replacement material for silicon, which has started to show its age in the face of extremely rapid technological progress. This is expected to hold potential market opportunities for key players. In the coming next 10-25 years, graphene may replace silicon as the primary material in semiconductors. According to the Coherent Market Insights analysis, market size of about USD 70 billion is projected for graphene semiconductors by 2030

Global Synthetic Graphite Market Restraints:

Increasing preference for natural graphite

According to the US Geological Survey in January 2022, the key uses of natural graphite, were batteries, brake linings, lubricants, powdered metals, refractory applications, and steelmaking. Imports of natural graphite to the United States in 2021 were predicted to be 53,000 tons, with flake and high-purity, percent amorphous, and% lump and chip graphite.

Stringent environmental regulations

Synthetic graphite is petroleum-based and manufactured mostly from high-grade petroleum coke, which leads to larger carbon footprint. This is expected to hinder the market growth.