Natural Graphite Materials Market Report

Natural Graphite Materials Market Insights

Natural graphite is a form of carbon where atoms are arranged in the layers that have weak bonds between each other. Natural graphite has three principal types: Amorphous, Flake, and Vein. Each natural graphite type has distinctive characteristics and is formed in unique geologic settings. Natural graphite production is mainly from small underground mines in China. China is the world's largest producer of natural graphite for both amorphous and flake graphite, and accounts for more than 65% of total global natural graphite production. Other countries with good natural graphite production include Brazil, North Korea, Canada, India, Romania, Ukraine, Mexico, Madagascar, Austria, Turkey, and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is the only country that produces high quality vein graphite.

The price of natural graphite is dependent on two variables; size and purity. Large size (+80 mesh) and high Carbon content (+94%) leads to premium pricing. Average prices of flake graphite have fallen continuously from the peak observed in 2011.

The natural graphite market offers a healthy growth opportunity during the forecast period of 2020 to 2025. Refractory is expected to remain the largest application of the natural graphite during the forecast period. Battery is expected to experience the fastest growth with double digit rate in the next five years.

Natural Graphite Materials Market Share Analysis

Natural Graphite Materials Market Share by Application Type

Currently, refractory is the largest application of natural graphite. However, it has continuously lost market share during 2014-2019 and is expected to lose further in the next five years. The decline is due to the reduced demand of refractories from steel industry and slower economic growth in China.

Batteries are currently the hot topic in the natural graphite market. All of the major natural graphite producers are discussing about the growth potential of natural graphite in the batteries for the automotive and other industries, such as consumer goods.  Battery is an application where both natural and synthetic graphite are used and truly compete with each other. There will be a continued shift in graphite market away from amorphous natural graphite towards flake and synthetic graphite as emerging applications like batteries typically require large flake and high-purity grades.

Tesla Motors with Panasonic and other strategic partners started building its lithium-ion battery called Gigafactory near northern Nevada, US. Company will start manufacturing Gigafactory battery on the limited production basis from 2016 which will be fully streamlined by 2020 with the total capacity of 35 GWh (Gigawatt hours). A Gigafactory battery uses about 96 kg of graphite and has the potential to double the world supply of lithium-ion batteries. Company estimates that it will produce about 500,000 electric vehicles in 2020 that translates into the need of 48,000 tons of graphite.

Key Players

The key natural graphite manufactures are South Graphite, Heilongjiang Aoyu Energy, Nacional de Grafite, Qingdao Haida Graphite, Graphite India, Hunan Chenzhou Lutang Crystallitic Graphite & Carbon, Hubei Hengda Graphite Shareholding, Eagle Graphite, and Ashbury Graphite Mills.

Research Methodology

For calculating the market size, our analysts follow either Top-Bottom or Bottom-Top approach or both, depending upon the complexity or availability of the data points. Our reports offer high-quality insights and are the outcome of detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. We leverage multitude of authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, government sources, trade associations, journals, investor presentation, white papers, and articles to gather the data. More than 10 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts are usually executed to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Market Scope & Segmentation

The market is segmented in the following ways:

Natural Graphite Materials Market Size, Share & Forecast by Form Type:

• Flake Graphite
  • Expandable Graphite
  • Spherical Graphite
  • Graphene
• Amorphous Graphite
• Vein and Other Graphite

Natural Graphite Materials Market Size, Share & Forecast by Application Type:

• Refractory
• Foundry
• Battery
• Lubricants
• Frictional Products
• Pencil
• Parts & Components
• Others

Natural Graphite Materials Market Size, Share & Forecast by End Use Industry Type:

• Metal Industry
• Aerospace & Defense
• Automotive Industry
• Industrial
• Others

Natural Graphite Materials Market Size, Share & Forecast by Sales Channel Type:

• Direct Sales
• Distributors

Natural Graphite Materials Market Size, Share & Forecast by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Rest of the World

Report Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (upto 3)
• SWOT analysis of key players (upto 3)

Geographic Analysis

• Further segmentation of North America into USA, Canada, and Mexico

Regional Segmentation

• Current market segmentation of any one of the regions by application

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