【Anode Materials】Conclusion of AD/CVD Case Brings Positive Outlook for China's Anode...

 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】Conclusion of AD/CVD Case Brings Positive Outlook for China's Anode Material Demand

On March 12, 2026, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a final negative vote, determining that imports from China did not cause material injury to the establishment of the U.S. domestic industry. As a result, both anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) were not implemented. After more than a year, the AD/CVD investigations into Chinese anode materials have come to an end.

I. Review of Anti-Dumping and
Countervailing Duty Policies

Source: Oilchem

Since the end of 2024, the United States filed a petition alleging that Chinese graphite anode materials involved dumping and subsidies, hindering the development of the U.S. domestic industry. Subsequently, the U.S. promoted "de-China" measures. However, an undeniable fact is that more than 90% of global graphite anode materials are processed in China, and almost all U.S. battery manufacturers rely on imports from China. The U.S. has severely insufficient domestic anode material capacity and immature technology, which cannot support the massive demand from electric vehicles and energy storage industries in the short term. Imposing tariffs on Chinese graphite anode materials has faced strong opposition from local automakers.

II. High Self-Sufficiency of Artificial Graphite,
with Strong Domestic Demand

Figure 1: Import Dependency of Anode Materials in 2025 (10,000 tons)

Source: Oilchem

From 2021 to 2025, the growth in China's anode material supply exceeded the growth in consumption, leading to an expanding oversupply situation and a continuous decline in import demand. As most of the newly added global anode material capacity is concentrated in China, overseas production remains relatively stable, with limited incremental supply available for export to China. China still relies on imports mainly for high-end artificial graphite anode materials, and the import dependency is expected to decline in the future.

China is the largest producer and consumer of anode materials, with demand mainly absorbed domestically, especially driven by growth in the power battery and energy storage sectors.

In 2025, artificial graphite exports reached 566,000 tons, accounting for 19.5% of total domestic output, while exports to the U.S. accounted for less than 2% of total production. Therefore, whether or not the U.S. imposes AD/CVD tariffs on China will not significantly affect the supply-demand structure of China's anode material market.

III. YoY Growth in Anode Demand

Figure 2: Output of Power and Energy Storage Batteries (GWh)

Source: Oilchem

In February, China's total output of power and energy storage batteries was 141.6 GWh, down 15.7% month-on-month but up 41.3% year-on-year. From January to February, cumulative output reached 309.7 GWh, up 48.8% year-on-year. Installed capacity of power batteries declined both month-on-month and year-on-year, while energy storage batteries showed growth.

In February, the global energy storage cell market CR3 and CR5 were 45.3% and 60.1%, respectively. The top three companies by shipment volume were CATL, EVE Energy, and Hubei Chunen, with market shares of 26.6%, 10.1%, and 8.7%, respectively. Although the global energy storage cell market was affected by the Spring Festival holiday, with some companies experiencing seasonal production declines, the overall market maintained a high level of prosperity. Leading energy storage cell manufacturers have sufficient order backlogs, and capacity utilization rates remain within a reasonable range.

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