【Anode Materials】Analysis of the Main Drivers Behind Market Growth in 2025

 The rapid growth of the EV and energy storage industries is boosting demand for high-performance lithium batteries, driving the market for quality petroleum coke and synthetic graphite. The quality and particle size of calcined petroleum coke directly affect synthetic graphite performance, especially in anode production.

【Anode Materials】Analysis of the Main Drivers Behind Market Growth in 2025

According to forecasts by domestic consulting institutions, China's anode material market in 2025 presents an overall pattern of strong production and sales. The market has achieved significant growth. Global anode material shipments in 2025 are estimated to range between 2.8–3.06 million tons (depending on statistical methodology), representing a year-on-year increase of 40–49%. China accounts for more than 90% of global shipments, with total market size exceeding RMB 50 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, new materials such as silicon-based anodes and hard carbon anodes have entered a phase of large-scale commercialization. Anode material prices bottomed out and began rebounding in 2025.

The strong growth of the anode material market in 2025 is the combined result of multi-point demand expansion, continuous technological innovation, supply-side structural optimization, and the resonance of policy and globalization.

The growth is mainly driven by the following factors:

I. Strong Expansion of Downstream Application Demand

Downstream Demand: Dual Engines of Energy Storage and Power Batteries

• Energy Storage Market Boom:
In 2025, demand for energy storage batteries surged, becoming the primary driver of anode material growth. The energy storage sector's preference for "low cost + long cycle life" anodes directly boosted demand for artificial graphite and related materials.

Lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage System Scale by Region

The explosion of the energy storage market in 2025 significantly increased anode material shipments. To match 500/600+ Ah large-capacity energy storage cells, artificial graphite performance indicators continued to improve: specific capacity advanced from 350 mAh/g to 353–355 mAh/g, while compaction density increased from 1.6 g/cm³ to 1.65 g/cm³ (885556), aligning with the core requirements of high energy density and long cycle life in energy storage batteries.

• Power Battery Capacity Expansion:
The penetration rate of new energy vehicles continued to rise, driving power battery shipments beyond 600 GWh and sustaining strong demand for high-end artificial graphite. Although the growth rate is relatively more moderate compared to energy storage, the large base provides a solid demand foundation for anode materials.

Technological Upgrading: Fast Charging and Silicon-Based Anodes as New Growth Engines

• Fast-Charging Technology Adoption:
The penetration rate of 4C and higher fast-charging anodes increased, enhancing the value-added of processes such as carbon coating and becoming a new engine of industry growth.

• Silicon-Based Anode Scale-Up:
Silicon-based anode materials transitioned from conceptual development to large-scale application, with shipments increasing substantially year-on-year. They achieved volume growth in power batteries and emerging sectors such as the low-altitude economy. Silicon-based composite materials became a growth highlight, with shipments increasing by more than 50% year-on-year in 2025. Specifically, China's shipments of new silicon-carbon pure powder exceeded 2,000 tons in 2025, equivalent to over 15,000 tons of silicon-based composite materials. In terms of applications, silicon-based composites have been fully adopted in the digital electronics sector; in the power battery sector, constrained by material consistency issues, they remain in the validation stage.

Industry Structure: Head Enterprise Concentration and Capacity Release

• Dominance of Leading Enterprises:
Orders continued to concentrate among leading companies such as BTR and Shanshan Co., with high operating rates and full capacity utilization.

• Capacity Ramp-Up:
With the commissioning and ramp-up of integrated projects by leading enterprises (e.g., Baichuan Co.'s Ningxia project), effective supply increased, supporting shipment growth.

Expansion in Consumer Electronics and Emerging Application Scenarios

New fields such as 5G, IoT, humanoid robots, and the low-altitude economy (e.g., eVTOL) demand higher energy density and lighter batteries, promoting the adoption of new materials such as silicon-based anodes.

II. Technological Iteration and Product Upgrading

• Silicon-Based Anodes Enter the 10,000-Ton-Level Market:
In 2025, the global silicon-based anode market size is expected to exceed RMB 3 billion, with China maintaining a dominant position. Applications are expanding from digital batteries to power batteries and emerging fields.

• Increased Value-Added from Fast-Charging Anode Processes:
Processes such as carbon coating and prelithiation improve product performance and premium capability.

• Cost Reduction and Efficiency Gains from Continuous Graphitization and Other New Processes:
For example, Kuntian New Energy's continuous graphitization furnace shortens production cycles, reduces energy consumption and labor costs, and enhances the competitiveness of leading enterprises.

III. Industry Structural Optimization and Rising Concentration

• Leading enterprises (such as BTR, Shanshan, CNGR Advanced Material, and Shangtai Technology), leveraging integrated capacity, cost control, and technological advantages, have continuously increased their market share. Orders are highly concentrated among leading players. Companies such as BTR (ranking first in production) and Shanshan (ranking first in artificial graphite shipments) have secured most incremental orders through technological accumulation and capacity layout, maintaining high capacity utilization rates.

• Outdated capacity has gradually exited the market due to prices remaining below cash cost for an extended period. From 2025 to 2026, the industry supply structure improved, and the supply-demand balance became more rational.

• Major customers such as BYD experienced "failed bids" or price increases in procurement tenders (e.g., 10–15% increases in the second half of 2024), reflecting that prices have bottomed out and that industry sentiment to support prices has strengthened.

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