Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Graphite

Graphite, crystalline carbon, is the main anode material in lithium-ion batteries and a refractory staple; China dominates supply.

Battery & magnet · No. 29

  • EU strategic
  • EU critical 2023
  • US critical 2025
  • India critical 2023
  • HHI 5,861 · highly concentrated
Battery & magnet · Foundation · Matter

Graphite is the main anode material in lithium-ion batteries, and China mined about 82% of natural graphite in 2025.

Chart: Illustration: Graphite

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Graphite forms when carbon-rich rocks are cooked by metamorphism. Crystalline flake, the battery type, is dug from open pits, crushed and floated into concentrate.

Three things to know
  1. The US has mined no natural graphite since its last Montana output ended in 1989.
  2. Battery makers must qualify each graphite supplier before buying, so new mines struggle to break in.
  3. World reserves of 310 million tons equal about 172 years of 2025 output.
The journey
  1. 1 Graphite oreFlake, vein or amorphous deposits
  2. 2 ConcentrateCrushed and floated in open pits
  3. 3 SpheronisingMilled into rounded particles
  4. 4 PurificationSpherical purified graphite, 99%+ carbon
  5. 5 Battery anodeCoated anode material in cells
Covered in What makes something a commodityCommoditiesHow commodities moveCommoditiesCriticality and geopoliticsCommoditiesStoring energy: from fuel stocks to batteriesEnergyUsing energy: food, materials, mobility and buildingsEnergy
Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full