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region-by-region.",[598],{"type":580,"attrs":599},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":601,"content":602},{"textAlign":49},[603,612],{"text":604,"type":577,"marks":605},"Outside of China",[606,610],{"type":587,"attrs":607},{"href":608,"uuid":609,"anchor":49,"target":591,"linktype":592},"/videos/panel-graphite-anodes-outside-china-what-it-actually-takes-to-get-built","18b10278-946e-498e-8990-fd5042547c87",{"type":580,"attrs":611},{"color":582},{"text":613,"type":577,"marks":614},", natural graphite still holds a notable 22% of traditional anode demand compared to 8% within China. Moving to 2030, outside of China natural graphite's share is set to fall only slightly to 20% whilst in China it is set to remain around the 8% mark.",[615],{"type":580,"attrs":616},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":618,"content":619},{"textAlign":49},[620],{"text":621,"type":577,"marks":622},"“Natural graphite is going to remain a very important anode feedstock in the Western world,” Daisy Jennings-Gray, head of prices at Benchmark, said at Benchmark’s London Summit held during LME Week 2026.",[623],{"type":580,"attrs":624},{"color":582},{"type":626,"attrs":627},"blok",{"id":628,"body":629},"b52fe842-22db-4898-a97e-0f7b183bbb0b",[630],{"id":631,"_uid":632,"type":633,"component":634,"fixed_height":566,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":566,"fixed_height_tablet":566},"30630770","i-812f3eb8-b6c3-4b4a-8feb-b9d0a13c9406","visualisation","ContentFlourish",{"type":636,"attrs":637,"content":639},"heading",{"level":638,"textAlign":49},2,[640],{"text":641,"type":577,"marks":642},"How is natural graphite evolving outside of China?",[643],{"type":580,"attrs":644},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"textAlign":49},[648,654,663,668,677,682,687],{"text":649,"type":577,"marks":650},"Natural graphite makes up just over 20% of ",[651],{"type":580,"attrs":652},{"color":653},"#1D1C1D",{"text":655,"type":577,"marks":656},"North American",[657,661],{"type":587,"attrs":658},{"href":659,"uuid":660,"anchor":49,"target":591,"linktype":592},"/article/recent-us-government-capital-driving-america-s-graphite-projects","df21cac8-6ef4-40a7-a7a3-fe9c1085b796",{"type":580,"attrs":662},{"color":653},{"text":664,"type":577,"marks":665}," and ",[666],{"type":580,"attrs":667},{"color":653},{"text":669,"type":577,"marks":670},"European",[671,675],{"type":587,"attrs":672},{"href":673,"uuid":674,"anchor":49,"target":591,"linktype":592},"/article/upstream-and-downstream-policy-push-europe-regional-spotlight","4ab2b302-3480-429b-a26f-74299f0c55e6",{"type":580,"attrs":676},{"color":653},{"text":678,"type":577,"marks":679}," anode demand in 2026, ",[680],{"type":580,"attrs":681},{"color":653},{"text":683,"type":577,"marks":684},"approximately",[685],{"type":580,"attrs":686},{"color":582},{"text":688,"type":577,"marks":689}," three times China's share.",[690],{"type":580,"attrs":691},{"color":653},{"type":572,"attrs":693,"content":694},{"textAlign":49},[695],{"text":696,"type":577,"marks":697},"Volumes are also growing: North American natural anode demand is set to rise 86% from about 38,000tpa in 2026 to 70,000tpa by 2030, and Europe demand to rise 34% from about 45,000tpa to rise 34% to 60,000tpa.",[698],{"type":580,"attrs":699},{"color":653},{"type":572,"attrs":701,"content":702},{"textAlign":49},[703],{"text":704,"type":577,"marks":705},"\"Despite the positive outlook for Western flake projects, supported by high growth rates, synthetic graphite demand volumes remain higher across all markets,” said Benchmark anode research manager Tony Alderson.",[706],{"type":580,"attrs":707},{"color":653},{"type":636,"attrs":709,"content":710},{"level":638,"textAlign":49},[711],{"text":712,"type":577,"marks":713},"How do natural and synthetic graphite differ?",[714],{"type":580,"attrs":715},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":717,"content":718},{"textAlign":49},[719],{"text":720,"type":577,"marks":721},"Typically, synthetic graphite anode active material (AAM) production is highly energy intensive and can have a sizeable carbon footprint depending on the energy mix. For example, material produced in Inner Mongolia where coal power dominates can have a much higher carbon footprint than material produced in Sichuan which has a large proportion of hydropower.",[722],{"type":580,"attrs":723},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":725,"content":726},{"textAlign":49},[727,732,738],{"text":728,"type":577,"marks":729},"This energy intensity is one reason behind the West’s lower appetite for synthetic graphite; another is the level of sulphur impurities allowable by Chinese producers.",[730],{"type":580,"attrs":731},{"color":582},{"type":733,"attrs":734},"image",{"id":735,"alt":566,"src":736,"title":566,"source":566,"copyright":566,"meta_data":737},233103467879619,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4240x2384/b65f22bdea/dsc01366.JPG",{},{"text":739,"type":577,"marks":740},"Daisy Jennings-Gray speaks on a panel at the Benchmark London Summit 2026 alongside Benchmark's Adam Webb, Zoe Zhang, and Shruti Kashyap",[741],{"type":742},"italic",{"type":572,"attrs":744,"content":745},{"textAlign":49},[746],{"text":747,"type":577,"marks":748},"“Chinese anode manufacturers have been able to use much lower quality synthetic graphite feedstock material,” Jennings-Gray said. “From an ESG perspective this is less possible outside of China.”",[749],{"type":580,"attrs":750},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":752,"content":753},{"textAlign":49},[754],{"text":755,"type":577,"marks":756},"Beyond environmental considerations, natural graphite anodes have a higher capacity. However, synthetic graphite anode materials generally have a longer cycle life.",[757],{"type":580,"attrs":758},{"color":582},{"type":636,"attrs":760,"content":761},{"level":638,"textAlign":49},[762],{"text":763,"type":577,"marks":764},"What challenges face natural graphite anode production?",[765],{"type":580,"attrs":766},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":768,"content":769},{"textAlign":49},[770],{"text":771,"type":577,"marks":772},"As with much of the battery supply chain, anode production is dominated by China both for synthetic and natural graphite-based anode materials.",[773],{"type":580,"attrs":774},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":776,"content":777},{"textAlign":49},[778],{"text":779,"type":577,"marks":780},"In 2026, 72% of natural graphite mining, 88% of spherical graphite production, and 72% of natural graphite AAM production is set to be located in China. By 2032, Benchmark forecasts that the mining-side will diversify significantly with China accounting for 53% of supply. However, spherical graphite and natural AAM production will remain heavily concentrated in China at 72% and 71%, respectively.",[781],{"type":580,"attrs":782},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":784,"content":785},{"textAlign":49},[786,791,799,804,809],{"text":787,"type":577,"marks":788},"“The weak link [in graphite] is not the raw material; it's the skill and the ability to refine it downstream,” Mark Thompson, founder of ",[789],{"type":580,"attrs":790},{"color":582},{"text":562,"type":577,"marks":792},[793,797],{"type":587,"attrs":794},{"href":795,"uuid":796,"anchor":49,"target":591,"linktype":592},"/article/talga-offtake-deals-signal-emerging-progress-in-europe-s-anode-build-out","8d6482b6-58ea-423e-9603-8db15716f9d6",{"type":580,"attrs":798},{"color":582},{"text":800,"type":577,"marks":801},", told Summit attendees.",[802],{"type":580,"attrs":803},{"color":582},{"type":733,"attrs":805},{"id":806,"alt":566,"src":807,"title":566,"source":566,"copyright":566,"meta_data":808},233103378455745,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4240x2384/91dd83e8ac/mark-thompson-talga.JPG",{},{"text":810,"type":577,"marks":811},"Talga's founder and managing director Mark Thompson speaks at Benchmark's London Summit 2026",[812],{"type":742},{"type":636,"attrs":814,"content":815},{"level":638,"textAlign":49},[816],{"text":817,"type":577,"marks":818},"How fast is synthetic graphite growing in the West?",[819],{"type":580,"attrs":820},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":822,"content":823},{"textAlign":49},[824],{"text":825,"type":577,"marks":826},"North American synthetic graphite anode demand more than doubles from about 131,000tpa to 291,000tpa by 2030, and Europe's rises 53% to about 223,000tpa.",[827],{"type":580,"attrs":828},{"color":653},{"type":572,"attrs":830,"content":831},{"textAlign":49},[832],{"text":833,"type":577,"marks":834},"“Pressure on Western cell makers to cut costs is a key priority at present, with natural graphite’s ESG advantages becoming a secondary consideration,” Alderson said. “And energy storage cells, which need long cycle life, typically favour synthetic graphite.”",[835],{"type":580,"attrs":836},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":838,"content":839},{"textAlign":49},[840,845,854],{"text":841,"type":577,"marks":842},"Anode prices are set to reinforce the trend. Low-energy synthetic anode ",[843],{"type":580,"attrs":844},{"color":582},{"text":846,"type":577,"marks":847},"was about $3,041/tonne in Q3",[848,852],{"type":587,"attrs":849},{"href":850,"uuid":851,"anchor":49,"target":591,"linktype":592},"/article/feedstock-costs-rise-but-aam-prices-hold-firm-anode-and-graphite-q3-2026-price-review","de97d2ba-5af8-4efb-b17e-a6f58fd907bc",{"type":580,"attrs":853},{"color":582},{"text":855,"type":577,"marks":856},", slightly above natural at $2,930/tonne. Benchmark expects synthetic anode prices to fall below natural in the second half of 2027, reaching about $2,959/tonne against $3,106/tonne by Q4 2027.",[857],{"type":580,"attrs":858},{"color":582},{"type":572,"attrs":860,"content":861},{"textAlign":49},[862],{"text":863,"type":577,"marks":864},"“With an 836,000tpa synthetic graphite anode surplus behind it, that price advantage is likely to last,” Alderson said.",[865],{"type":580,"attrs":866},{"color":582},"Although synthetic graphite is the preferred feedstock for the large majority of cells in all regions, the strength of this preference varies notably region-by-region.\n\nOutside of China, natural graphite still holds a notable 22% of traditional anode demand compared to 8% within China. Moving to 2030, outside of China natural graphite’s share is set to fall only slightly to 20% whilst in China it is set to remain around the 8% mark.",[],"article",[871,873,876,878,881,884],{"slug":872,"name":263},"anode",{"slug":874,"name":875},"graphite","Graphite",{"slug":877,"name":189},"natural-graphite",{"slug":879,"name":880},"synthetic-graphite","Synthetic Graphite",{"slug":882,"name":883},"raw-materials","Raw Materials",{"slug":885,"name":886},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":49,"name":566,"focus":49,"title":49,"source":49,"filename":566,"copyright":49,"fieldtype":889,"meta_data":890},"asset",{},{"id":892,"alt":566,"name":566,"focus":566,"title":566,"source":566,"filename":893,"copyright":566,"fieldtype":889,"meta_data":894,"is_external_url":50},129073008203380,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/91603b582e/bm-talga-mine.jpg",{},"Oct 21, 2026","21st October 2026",[],[],1792624524532]