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flake graphite bottlenecks push automakers to synthetic?","could-flake-graphite-bottlenecks-push-automakers-to-synthetic","article/could-flake-graphite-bottlenecks-push-automakers-to-synthetic",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":572,"content":582,"excerpt":770,"featured":51,"reporter":771,"_editable":775,"component":776,"seo_title":553,"categories":777,"visibility":784,"author_company":49,"featured_image":785,"seo_description":770,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":790,"formattedArticleDate":791},"29d4b9ea-4ad3-4019-9dfa-40d0e51c64ec","2023-02-27 00:00",[560,563,566,569],{"slug":561,"name":562},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",{"slug":564,"name":565},"flake-graphite","flake graphite",{"slug":567,"name":568},"nextsource-materials","NextSource Materials",{"slug":570,"name":571},"synthetic-graphite","Synthetic graphite",[573],{"slug":574,"name":575,"content":576},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":577,"image":578,"bio":580,"linkedin":581},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":579},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":583,"content":584},"doc",[585,592,597,626,631,640,647,652,660,665,678,683,688,693,701,706,711,716,721,734,747,752,760,765],{"type":586,"attrs":587,"content":588},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[589],{"text":590,"type":591},"The -100 natural flake graphite deficit is forecast by Benchmark to more than double this year, despite supply increasing by 15%.","text",{"type":586,"attrs":593,"content":594},{"textAlign":49},[595],{"text":596,"type":591},"The synthetic graphite market, by contrast, is forecast by Benchmark to be in a surplus until 2028, with this year’s surplus growing 23% on last year.",{"type":586,"attrs":598,"content":599},{"textAlign":49},[600,608,610,616,618,624],{"text":601,"type":591,"marks":602},"Flake graphite is generally preferred by Western automakers",[603],{"type":604,"attrs":605},"link",{"href":606,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":607},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-natural-flake-graphites-lithium-ion-moment","url",{"text":609,"type":591}," over synthetic graphite as it gives a higher capacity anode material, lower cost and typically has better ",{"text":611,"type":591,"marks":612},"environmental credentials owing to the lower energy use in its production",[613],{"type":604,"attrs":614},{"href":615,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":607},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/esg-of-graphite-how-do-synthetic-graphite-and-natural-graphite-compare",{"text":617,"type":591},". But synthetic graphite and related coke feedstocks are set to maintain a supply surplus, making it the chemistry of choice for new ",{"text":619,"type":591,"marks":620},"anode manufacturers",[621],{"type":604,"attrs":622},{"href":623,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":607},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/south-koreas-sk-agrees-us-anode-deal-in-move-to-reduce-china-dominance",{"text":625,"type":591}," entering the market.",{"type":586,"attrs":627,"content":628},{"textAlign":49},[629],{"text":630,"type":591},"“In the near term we are likely to see greater deployment of synthetic anode material over natural graphite anode material, and a higher proportion of synthetic in blended anode material because of the restricted availability of natural graphite anode feedstock” George Miller, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":586,"attrs":632,"content":633},{"textAlign":49},[634],{"type":635,"attrs":636},"image",{"id":49,"alt":637,"src":638,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":639},"Flake graphite deficit set to increase through to 2030","https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/Flake-graphite-and-synthetic-market-balance--1024x918.jpg",{},{"type":641,"attrs":642,"content":644},"heading",{"level":643,"textAlign":49},4,[645],{"text":646,"type":591},"Alternative graphite options",{"type":586,"attrs":648,"content":649},{"textAlign":49},[650],{"text":651,"type":591},"The lack of -100 mesh sized graphite could be compensated for by the other mesh sizes which can be ground down. The downside of this is that material is lost as fines during the grinding process and adds extra costs to the process of producing anode material.",{"type":586,"attrs":653,"content":654},{"textAlign":49},[655],{"type":635,"attrs":656},{"id":49,"alt":657,"src":658,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":659},"-100 mesh flake graphite deficit to grow rapidly","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/eba1f4c944/bm-nat-flake-market-balance.jpg",{},{"type":586,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":591},"“Will the minus 100 mesh deficit push automakers to mill down large mesh sizes of flake graphite? It’s possible it will,” Miller said. “But as long as costs are lower than using synthetic graphite anodes.”",{"type":586,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668,670,676],{"text":669,"type":591},"Despite the ",{"text":671,"type":591,"marks":672},"preference for natural graphite anode material",[673],{"type":604,"attrs":674},{"href":675,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":607},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/thriving-battery-anode-market-drives-demand-for-natural-flake-graphite-2022-in-review",{"text":677,"type":591}," outside of China, automakers are not necessarily the ones willing to drive change in anode feedstock availability, however.",{"type":586,"attrs":679,"content":680},{"textAlign":49},[681],{"text":682,"type":591},"“I don’t think auto-OEMs currently have much of a feedstock consideration within the anode value chain, as of yet because prices haven’t been volatile and because anodes aren’t a big proportion of overall cell costs,” Miller said.",{"type":586,"attrs":684,"content":685},{"textAlign":49},[686],{"text":687,"type":591},"Brent Nykoliation, the executive vice president of Next Source Materials, a natural graphite developer entering commissioning at its Molo project in Madagascar, told Benchmark that all the OEMs they are dealing with will be using a majority of synthetic graphite feedstock rather than natural flake graphite.",{"type":586,"attrs":689,"content":690},{"textAlign":49},[691],{"text":692,"type":591},"“[Automakers] don’t have a lot of options to find natural graphite from a reliable source from a country that’s not an issue or a foreign concern and in the quantities and in the quality that you need it so that’s what’s hampering it,” he said.",{"type":586,"attrs":694,"content":695},{"textAlign":49},[696],{"type":635,"attrs":697},{"id":49,"alt":698,"src":699,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":700},"Natural flake graphite supply by region","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3da24f2c04/bm-flake-graphite-production.jpg",{},{"type":586,"attrs":702,"content":703},{"textAlign":49},[704],{"text":705,"type":591},"“All these car companies realise they need huge amounts [of graphite],” Nykoliation said. “But there’s no plan really to fund the projects in order to get them up and running because it’s going to take anywhere between three to seven years to develop these projects.”",{"type":641,"attrs":707,"content":708},{"level":643,"textAlign":49},[709],{"text":710,"type":591},"The geography of processing",{"type":586,"attrs":712,"content":713},{"textAlign":49},[714],{"text":715,"type":591},"China’s dominance grows stronger in both the synthetic and natural graphite supply chains when the processing steps are considered.",{"type":586,"attrs":717,"content":718},{"textAlign":49},[719],{"text":720,"type":591},"Once natural graphite is mined, it is converted into spherical graphite before it can be used in an anode.",{"type":586,"attrs":722,"content":723},{"textAlign":49},[724,726,732],{"text":725,"type":591},"All of the capacity to carry out this process last year was in China. This year, with ",{"text":727,"type":591,"marks":728},"spherical graphite facilities",[729],{"type":604,"attrs":730},{"href":731,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":607},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/panasonics-canadian-graphite-deal-highlights-north-american-opportunity",{"text":733,"type":591}," from companies such as Syrah and Westwater in the US and Nouveau Monde in Canada due to begin coming online, China’s control of the market will fall slightly to 98%, according to Benchmark’s Flake Graphite Forecast.",{"type":586,"attrs":735,"content":736},{"textAlign":49},[737,739,745],{"text":738,"type":591},"Production of anode-quality synthetic graphite from ",{"text":740,"type":591,"marks":741},"coke feedstocks",[742],{"type":604,"attrs":743},{"href":744,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":607},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-makes-steps-towards-reducing-reliance-on-needle-coke-imports",{"text":746,"type":591}," is also mostly in China. Just 4.5% of anode-grade synthetic graphite in 2023 is expected to be produced outside of China according to Benchmark’s Synthetic Graphite Forecast.",{"type":586,"attrs":748,"content":749},{"textAlign":49},[750],{"text":751,"type":591},"By 2030, this will have increased slightly to 9.7%, mostly driven by US producers Anovion and Novonix.",{"type":586,"attrs":753,"content":754},{"textAlign":49},[755],{"type":635,"attrs":756},{"id":49,"alt":757,"src":758,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":759},"Chinese spherical graphite dominance set to remain this decade","https://wp-admin.benchmarkminerals.com/app/uploads/SPG-1024x939.jpg",{},{"type":586,"attrs":761,"content":762},{"textAlign":49},[763],{"text":764,"type":591},"Although the production of spherical graphite is energy-intensive, it is significantly less energy intensive than the production of synthetic graphite. Energy intensity is important from both cost and environmental perspectives and is one reason why many western automakers prefer natural graphite to synthetic.",{"type":586,"attrs":766,"content":767},{"textAlign":49},[768],{"text":769,"type":591},"“Synthetic is winning now and for the near term on good availability,” Miller said. “But in the long term, natural graphite anode material has the potential to win on ESG and cost considerations.”","The -100 natural flake graphite deficit is forecast by Benchmark to more than double this year, despite supply increasing by 15%. The synthetic graphite market, by contrast, is forecast by Benchmark to be in a surplus until 2028, with this year’s surplus growing 23% on last year. Flake graphite is generally preferred by Western automakers […]",[772],{"slug":574,"name":575,"content":773},{"job_title":577,"image":774,"bio":580,"linkedin":581},{"filename":579},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"29d4b9ea-4ad3-4019-9dfa-40d0e51c64ec\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[778,781],{"slug":779,"name":780},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":782,"name":783},"graphite","Graphite","private",{"id":49,"alt":786,"name":786,"focus":786,"title":786,"source":786,"filename":787,"copyright":786,"fieldtype":788,"meta_data":789,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/033b50adbc/bm-conveyor-and-plant-12-12-22-reduced.jpeg","asset",{"alt":786,"title":786,"source":786,"copyright":786},"Feb 27, 2023","27th February 2023",[],[],1792773918841]