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anode majors shift to Sichuan in clean energy push","chinas-anode-majors-shift-to-sichuan-in-clean-energy-push","article/chinas-anode-majors-shift-to-sichuan-in-clean-energy-push",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":563,"content":573,"excerpt":695,"featured":50,"reporter":696,"_editable":700,"component":701,"seo_title":553,"categories":702,"visibility":708,"author_company":49,"featured_image":709,"seo_description":695,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":714,"formattedArticleDate":715},"9487396d-8a55-496a-99bd-615ced5ee2a5","2021-09-07 00:00",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562},"china","China",[564],{"slug":565,"name":566,"content":567},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":568,"image":569,"bio":571,"linkedin":572},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":570},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":574,"content":575},"doc",[576,583,588,593,598,605,610,615,620,625,630,635,640,645,650,655,660,665,670,675,680,685,690],{"type":577,"attrs":578,"content":579},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[580],{"text":581,"type":582},"In 2021, China’s leading anode manufacturers have announced a wave of expansion plans in Sichuan at an unprecedented scale, with the province set to emerge as a new centre for anode capacity in the country.","text",{"type":577,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586],{"text":587,"type":582},"The industry’s tier 1 producers — including BTR, Shanshan, Kaijin and Putailai — have announced significant expansions in the province this year, totalling more than 800,000 tpa of additional capacity according to the latest data from Benchmark’s Anode Market Assessment.",{"type":577,"attrs":589,"content":590},{"textAlign":49},[591],{"text":592,"type":582},"The main factor drawing producers to Sichuan is its abundant hydroelectric power, which meets synthetic anode producers’ high energy requirements at a low cost but with a cleaner emissions profile compared with other anode-producing Chinese regions reliant on coal, such as Inner Mongolia.",{"type":577,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596],{"text":597,"type":582},"Low life cycle emissions are of particular importance for Chinese anode producers exporting to North America and the European Union, where the footprint of the lithium ion battery supply chain is increasingly on the agenda legislators, automakers, and consumers.",{"type":599,"attrs":600,"content":602},"heading",{"level":601,"textAlign":49},4,[603],{"text":604,"type":582},"China’s new battery anode hub",{"type":577,"attrs":606,"content":607},{"textAlign":49},[608],{"text":609,"type":582},"Since the end of 2020 China’s anode incumbents have rushed to establish production bases in Sichuan, drawn by the province’s green credentials but also its emergence as a wider lithium ion hub, which is home to leading cathode and cell producers.",{"type":577,"attrs":611,"content":612},{"textAlign":49},[613],{"text":614,"type":582},"This began to develop at the start of the year when BTR purchased Sichuan Jinbei New Material (Sichuan Jinbei). Sichuan Jinbei was a new entrant to the anode market, having only been founded in 2020, and had zero revenues and a single 30,000 tpa anode facility under construction in Yibin. Despite these apparent drawbacks, BTR saw the purchase as an economical means to enter the region and promised a RMB 1.65bn (US$260m) to construct a 50,000 tpa synthetic graphite anode facility.",{"type":577,"attrs":616,"content":617},{"textAlign":49},[618],{"text":619,"type":582},"Following BTR’s announcement, fellow tier 1 producer Putailai announced plans in March to enter the region with a massive 200,000 tpa synthetic graphite anode facility in Chengdu, to be set up through subsidiary Sichuan Zichen.",{"type":577,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623],{"text":624,"type":582},"In April Kaijin New Energy announced plans to build an integrated anode production line in Leshan, Sichuan, and although it did not publicly specify the capacity size Benchmark anticipates this to be another large scale development.",{"type":577,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":582},"In early August, Shanshan also entered the fray, committing to build a 200,000 tpa battery anode production facility in Meishan, Sichuan. The RMB 8bn ($1.2 bn) project is expected to be constructed in two 100,000 tpa phases and will include an integrated anode production line from raw material processing to final product processing.",{"type":577,"attrs":631,"content":632},{"textAlign":49},[633],{"text":634,"type":582},"The most recent development came from BTR this September, when the company continued its expansions in the region and announced a joint venture – Sichuan Ruifu New Material — with Fuan Holding Limited to build a 100,000 tpa anode precursor facility in Ya’an, Sichuan.",{"type":599,"attrs":636,"content":637},{"level":601,"textAlign":49},[638],{"text":639,"type":582},"Inner Mongolia loses its shine",{"type":577,"attrs":641,"content":642},{"textAlign":49},[643],{"text":644,"type":582},"Prior to Sichuan’s emergence as a new anode hub this year, Inner Mongolia had been at the centre of China’s recent upstream anode capacity expansions. Attracted to the province by favourable tax policies and subsidised power, several synthetic graphite producers and natural flake graphite miners and processors set up base in the region.",{"type":577,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"textAlign":49},[648],{"text":649,"type":582},"But Inner Mongolia’s cheap power is fuelled by coal and with the central Chinese government now attempting to implement its 30/60 policy — to reach peak carbon by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 — it has begun cracking down on industrial activities in the region, which includes graphitisation used in the anode production process.",{"type":577,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":582},"Synthetic graphite battery anode production is an energy intensive process. In China, the typical production process for synthetic graphite uses an Acheson furnace, which requires significant amounts of energy. Analysis from Benchmark’s ESG team shows that electricity use accounts for approximately 97% of the global warming potential (GWP) in synthetic graphite production for battery anode materials in Inner Mongolia.",{"type":577,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":582},"With pressure mounting from China’s central government and with Western electric vehicle producers aiming to cut the emissions profile of their batteries, Inner Mongolia’s competitive edge has diminished.",{"type":577,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":582},"Under these pressures Inner Mongolia has already begun efforts to improve its emissions problem. In August, Inner Mongolia’s Energy Administration agreed to develop solar and wind energy to produce green hydrogen in the region as it attempts to reposition itself for decarbonised energy production.",{"type":599,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"level":601,"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":582},"A new anode era",{"type":577,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"text":674,"type":582},"The recent anode expansions in Sichuan signify a new era for anode industry.",{"type":577,"attrs":676,"content":677},{"textAlign":49},[678],{"text":679,"type":582},"Firstly, the scale and speed of these expansions in the region, which are almost equal to the total existing capacity globally, show that the anode industry is now scaling up to meet gigawatt hour levels of battery production.",{"type":577,"attrs":681,"content":682},{"textAlign":49},[683],{"text":684,"type":582},"Secondly, with the shift to Sichuan being driven by the pursuit of decarbonised sources of energy, concerns surrounding carbon emissions are now having a material impact on the shape of the supply chain.",{"type":577,"attrs":686,"content":687},{"textAlign":49},[688],{"text":689,"type":582},"While improving emissions profiles of anode materials will be critical for Chinese producers looking to supply Western markets, the growing push for supply chain localisation could lead to some anode production shifting to these regions.",{"type":577,"attrs":691,"content":692},{"textAlign":49},[693],{"text":694,"type":582},"In Europe, this trend has been seen in other segments of the supply chain with the development of megafactories and cathode production facilities. Today, anode production is centred in China, but the next stage of this evolution could see hubs developing closer to end markets.","In 2021, China’s leading anode manufacturers have announced a wave of expansion plans in Sichuan at an unprecedented scale, with the province set to emerge as a new centre for anode capacity in the country. The industry’s tier 1 producers — including BTR, Shanshan, Kaijin and Putailai — have announced significant expansions in the province […]",[697],{"slug":565,"name":566,"content":698},{"job_title":568,"image":699,"bio":571,"linkedin":572},{"filename":570},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"9487396d-8a55-496a-99bd-615ced5ee2a5\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[703,705],{"slug":704,"name":265},"anode",{"slug":706,"name":707},"batteries","Batteries","private",{"id":49,"alt":710,"name":710,"focus":710,"title":710,"source":710,"filename":711,"copyright":710,"fieldtype":712,"meta_data":713,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4b8dec1c7b/bm-chengdu-nate-hovee.jpg","asset",{"alt":710,"title":710,"source":710,"copyright":710},"Sep 07, 2021","7th September 2021",[],[],1789748870403]