# Graphite: Characteristics

Why lithium ions slip between graphite's layers

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/characteristics/

Why lithium ions slip between graphite's layers What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).

#### Supply volume characteristics

| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Current production volume** | about 1.8 Mt natural graphite mine output (2025e); synthetic graphite is larger but not reported by USGS | China mined 1.4 Mt (82%). Madagascar (80 kt), Tanzania (75 kt), Brazil (65 kt) and Mozambique (60 kt) follow; India mined 17 kt. | USGS MCS 2026, Graphite (natural) |
| **Inventory and stock levels** | not published | There is no exchange or public stock. Chinese anode makers and traders hold stocks; US imports of anode material jumped in 2025 ahead of duties. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| **Capacity utilisation** | anodes: heavy overcapacity; electrodes: HEG about 90% (Q1 FY26) | The IEA found China's anode active material capacity almost four to nine times global EV cell demand in 2023. Indian electrode maker HEG ran its roughly 100,000 t/yr plant at about 90% utilisation. SMM reported effective anode capacity tightening at end-2025. | IEA 2023 via Argus; ICICI Direct (Aug 2025); SMM (Apr 2026) |
| **Geographic and producer concentration** | China 75.9%; top-3 (China, India, Madagascar) 87.8%; HHI 5,861 (mine) | Processing is even more concentrated: China makes almost all spherical purified graphite and most anode material. BTR alone sold about 600,000 t of anode material in 2025. | World Mining Data 2024; Mysteel (2026) |
| **Supply elasticity** | moderate for Chinese anode capacity (18-month builds); low for new mines outside China (5-10 years, indicative) | Chinese plants can be built quickly, which caused the 2023-25 glut. Western mines face permitting and qualification delays of several years. | SMM (Apr 2026); USGS MCS 2026 |
| **Project pipeline and CapEx** | about 1.08 Mt/yr of new anode capacity announced in China in Q1 2026 alone | Eleven Chinese firms announced projects, including Hunan Zhongke Shinzoom (300,000 t, about 7 billion yuan), Shangtai (200,000 t, 3.6 billion yuan) and Inner Mongolia Xiangfu (200,000 t). Outside China, an Alaska project plans 175,000 t/yr of concentrate, and Syrah's Vidalia plant has 11,250 t/yr of anode capacity. | SMM (22 Apr 2026, sum calculated); USGS MCS 2026; Fastmarkets 2024 |
| **Logistics and export flows** | natural graphite exports (HS 2504) $439 million in 2024; China 46.6%; US 24.8% of imports | Concentrate ships in bags and containers from Mozambique (Nacala, Pemba), Madagascar and Tanzania to China. China's export permits (from December 2023) and US antidumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese anode material are the main chokepoints. | UN Comtrade 2024 (HS 2504); USGS MCS 2026 |

#### Material characteristics Industrial mineral

Graphite is a soft, crystalline form of carbon that conducts electricity and heat, resists very high temperatures and lets lithium ions slot between its layers. Price depends on carbon purity and flake size for natural graphite, and on particle shape, size and purity for battery anode powder. Steelmaking electrodes need synthetic graphite with low resistance and high strength.

| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Fixed carbon content** | concentrate typically 94-97% C; spherical purified graphite at least 99.95% C | Sets price and battery suitability | Fastmarkets price specifications; USGS MCS 2026 |
| **Flake size** | jumbo (+50 mesh), large (+80), medium (+100), fine (-100 mesh) | Larger flake earns higher prices, for refractories and expandable graphite | Industry mesh grading (indicative) |
| **Particle size and shape (anode)** | spherical, D50 about 15-18 microns | Controls packing density and cell performance | Fastmarkets (15 micron SPG specification) |
| **Ash and moisture** | ash below about 0.05% for battery grade (indicative); moisture below about 0.5% | Impurities degrade cells and refractories | Industry specifications (indicative) |
| **Specific capacity** | theoretical 372 mAh/g as LiC6 | Sets anode energy density | Electrochemistry references |
| **Thermal and electrical properties** | stable above 3,000 C in inert atmosphere; good in-plane conductor | Refractories, crucibles and EAF electrodes | Materials handbooks (indicative) |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/criticality/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/links/index.md)