Increasing Electric Vehicle Deployment Adding Wings to Worldwide Graphite Demand

The increasing production of steel, due to the mushrooming requirement for steel products in end-use industries such as automotive, residential (household use), construction, and oil & gas, is fueling the global demand for graphite. As per the World Steel Association, the worldwide crude steel production increased from 1,814 million tons in 2018 to 1,869 million tons in 2019. Graphite exhibits high corrosion resistance and excellent strength and durability at extreme temperatures.

As natural graphite is cheaper than synthetic graphite and lithium titanate, the mushrooming sales of Li-ion batteries are driving the worldwide demand for graphite. This is, in turn, causing the expansion of the global graphite market. As a result, the revenue of the market is predicted to rise from $19,092.9 million in 2019 to $36,889.1 million by 2030. Furthermore, the market is predicted to advance at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2020 to 2030.

Depending on application, the market is divided into refractories, electrodes, foundries, lubricants, batteries, graphite shapes, and friction products categories. Out of these, the electrodes category dominated the graphite market in 2019. This was because graphite electrodes were used extensively in electric arc furnaces, as they were the primary heating elements. These furnaces were used during steel manufacturing, where scrap from old appliances or vehicles is melted for producing crude steel. 

Additionally, graphite electrodes have various beneficial traits such as the ability to withstand extremely high levels of heat and high electrical conductivity and are thus, extensively used in the steel manufacturing process. When end-use industry is taken into consideration, the graphite market is classified into automotive, metallurgy, and electronics categories. Out of these, the automotive category is predicted to hold the largest share in the market in the upcoming years.

Hence, it is safe to say that the demand for graphite will shoot up in the forthcoming years, primarily because of its increasing usage in the steel production process and Li-ion batteries and the mushrooming production of steel and the ballooning sales of Li-ion batteries, on account of the growing deployment of electric vehicles, across the world.

Source: www.psmarketresearch.com