# Battery anode materials: Emissions

Why coal-powered furnaces make anode a carbon heavyweight

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/emissions/

What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint per tonne, split by lifecycle phase (feedstock, production, movement, use, end of life), the global total, other environmental impacts, levers and low-carbon routes, India's position, and where the investment opportunity lies. Emission intensity 15.0 t CO2e per t range about 7 (hydro-powered project) to about 17-20 (Chinese coal-powered synthetic) · Chinese natural graphite anode 9.6 (Engels et al. 2022) to 16.8 (Minviro 2022); synthetic higher on coal power; mix-weighted indicative Global emissions per year 43.0 Mt CO2e per year 2025 · about 15 t x 2.9 Mt

Per t of anode active material, cradle-to-gate. Intensity: graphite tile (Minviro 2022; Engels et al. 2022); weighting indicative. Global total: derived (indicative).

#### Share of footprint by lifecycle phase
 Feedstock 20% Production / process 77% Movement 3%

#### Footprint by lifecycle phase

| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Feedstock** | about 3 t CO2e per t (coke, pitch, flake) | 20% | refinery coke production, coal-tar processing, flake mining (concentrate 1.0-2.2 t CO2e per t) | Indicative split | graphite tile; indicative |
| **Production / process** | about 11.5 t CO2e per t | 77% | Graphitisation at about 3,000 C on coal-heavy grids; calcination of coatings; acid purification for natural graphite | Hydro or renewable power cuts this sharply | Indicative |
| **Movement** | about 0.5 t CO2e per t | 3% | coke and flake to China, powder to cell plants | Indicative | Indicative |
| **Use** | not applicable | – | enables EV and storage cells | Avoided emissions counted at vehicle or grid level | Not applicable |
| **End of life** | not published | – | most recyclers burn or discard graphite from black mass | graphite recovery is still early | Indicative |

#### Other environmental impacts

HF purification of natural graphite creates fluoride wastewater; graphitisation emits SO2 and particulates; coke supply ties anodes to oil refining.

#### Levers to cut emissions

- Graphitise on renewable or hydro power (a hydro-powered Canadian project models 7.3 t vs about 17 t, Minviro)
- Continuous or box-furnace graphitisation with lower energy use (indicative)
- Thermal rather than HF purification for natural graphite
- Graphite recovery from black mass
- Bio-based hard carbon for sodium-ion

#### India

No Indian anode output yet; a plant on today's Indian grid would carry high graphitisation emissions unless supplied with renewable power.
 Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

#### Low-carbon routes

| Route | Intensity | Cost premium | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Synthetic graphite on renewable power** | under 7 t CO2e per t (indicative) | depends on power price; cheap solar plus storage could compete (indicative) | Western projects and Chinese hydro-province plants (indicative) | graphite tile (Minviro); indicative |
| **Hydro-powered natural graphite anode** | about 7.3 t CO2e per t | not published | Northern Graphite (Canada) modelled by Minviro | graphite tile (Minviro, Feb 2022) |

 For a climate investor Anode is the battery material India is best placed to make: it has refinery coke, natural graphite, and graphite know-how at HEG and Graphite India. The US and EU are tightening rules on Chinese anode, though a US anti-dumping case failed at the ITC in March 2026, so protection rests mainly on US credit rules and EU carbon-footprint rules. The climate case rests on graphitisation powered by contracted renewables, which can halve the footprint, and on winning qualification with cell makers. Risks are Chinese overcapacity (1.08 Mt announced in one quarter) and the fact that only 1.4 GWh of about 40 GWh of awarded ACC PLI cell capacity had been commissioned by October 2025, with no incentive yet paid (IEEFA, Jan 2026). Epsilon (30 kt planned) is the lead Indian builder.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/characteristics/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/links/index.md)