Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Battery anode materials and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft

Every lithium-ion cell in an electric vehicle needs an anode, almost always graphite, the largest active material in the cell by mass. China refines more than 90% of the world's graphite and has required licences for key graphite exports since December 2023, so carmakers' battery supply chains outside China depend on new anode plants that take years to qualify.

Battery anode materials (chemical) and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft (industry): 4 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Industry input

Physical flow · Strong · Anode materials to vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft

The anode stores lithium when a cell is charged, and graphite does this cheaply and stably, so every EV battery cell contains it; the site rates anode materials 5 of 5 on criticality for EV battery cell and materials makers.

  • 5 of 5 criticality for EV battery cell and materials makers
  • more than 90% China's share of world graphite refining, 2023
  • about 70% share of China's graphite output made synthetically, 2023

Graphite makes up the largest share of active material in a lithium-ion cell by mass. About 70% of China's graphite output is synthetic, made from coke, with natural flake the main alternative, and both routes run mainly through Chinese refining.

Enterprise types that depend on it:

  • EV battery cell and materials makers: core input (criticality 5 of 5)

Sources: Material Insights; electrive; Syrah Resources

2. Chinese graphite export licences

Shared risk · Strong · China's export controls reach vehicle battery supply

Because China makes almost all anode material, a licence requirement on its exports can delay or stop cell production elsewhere, and in turn vehicle output.

  • 1 December 2023 start of China's licensing for exports of three sensitive graphite grades
  • close to 100% China's share of anode shipments to the US, 2020 to 2023
  • 8 November 2025 planned start of wider Chinese controls on battery and artificial graphite anode materials, suspended for one year

Even natural graphite anode makers in South Korea and Japan import spherical graphite from joint ventures in China, so the dependence runs deeper than final anode shipments. In October 2025 China announced further export controls on lithium batteries and artificial graphite anode materials, then suspended them for a year after US-China talks, so the suspension's expiry in late 2026 is a live risk for cell and carmakers.

Sources: electrive; Fastmarkets; SMM (Shanghai Metals Market)

3. Localisation rules and incentives

Policy · Rising · Vehicle subsidy and industrial rules push anode supply outside China

Governments are paying for anode plants outside China and some tie EV or battery support to where materials come from, which pushes carmakers and cell makers to qualify non-Chinese anode supply.

  • 3 to 5 years typical time for a new anode supplier to qualify with cell makers
  • ₹145 crore Indian ECMS capital support for Epsilon's anode project, 25% of its capex, 2026

The long qualification time means that plants announced today mostly reach vehicles late in the decade. In India, Epsilon Advanced Materials has commissioned a customer qualification plant at Vijayanagar in Karnataka and plans 30,000 tonnes a year by 2028 and 100,000 tonnes in a second phase.

Sources: Fastmarkets; AlCircle; Business Today

4. Silicon in the anode

Transition · Rising · Demand for range and fast charging shifts anodes towards silicon blends

Blending silicon into a graphite anode lets a cell store more energy, which suits long-range vehicles using nickel-rich cells.

  • 20% forecast share of anode supply containing silicon by 2035, GWh basis
  • over four times forecast growth in the silicon-containing share of anode supply, 2022 to 2035

Benchmark expects most of this growth after 2030, as nickel-focused cell production grows outside China. Graphite remains the base material even in silicon blends, so silicon eases but does not remove the graphite dependence.

Sources: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

For investors

Key learnings

  1. Anode supply is the most China-concentrated step in the EV battery chain, so Chinese licensing decisions are a direct risk to vehicle output outside China.
  2. New anode plants take three to five years to qualify with cell makers, so announced capacity overstates near-term non-Chinese supply.
  3. Silicon blends add value for long-range vehicles, but graphite stays the bulk anode material through the 2030s.

What to track

  • China's graphite and anode export volumes, licence approvals and the status of the suspended 2025 controls: Falling exports, refused licences or reinstated controls signal supply risk for cell and vehicle makers (Monthly · China customs data; as announced · MOFCOM)
  • Qualification and start-up of anode plants outside China: Successful qualification reduces dependence (Quarterly · company reports)
  • Silicon share of anode supply: Rising share shows uptake in premium, long-range EVs (Annual · Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and industry reports)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. An EV programme without domestic anode supply is exposed to Chinese export licensing, which has applied to key graphite grades since December 2023 and was proposed for wider anode materials in 2025.
  2. Capital support such as India's ECMS grant to Epsilon helps, but customer qualification time is the real bottleneck and should shape targets.
  3. Buyers outside China that want supply free of Chinese inputs are a potential export market for Indian anode makers, but only if their own graphite and precursors are sourced outside China.

What to track

  • India's imports of graphite anode material by country: Shows how fast domestic and non-Chinese supply replaces Chinese imports (Monthly · Ministry of Commerce trade data)
  • Indian anode capacity commissioned and qualified: Measures progress on battery localisation (Annual · MeitY ECMS and company disclosures)

India

India's graphite anode industry is at the qualification stage: Epsilon Advanced Materials, backed by ₹145 crore of ECMS support (2026), has commissioned a customer qualification plant in Karnataka and plans 30,000 tonnes a year by 2028.

Sources

  1. Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft: materials, Material Insights (2026)
  2. China places export controls on graphite, electrive (2023)
  3. Why underinvestment in ex-China anode supply chains could make graphite exception to FEOC rules, Fastmarkets (2024)
  4. Growing silicon-based anode market share to 2035 to reflect nickel-based cell growth, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (2026)
  5. Battery anode market, Syrah Resources
  6. Epsilon gets $15.2m boost to build India's indigenous graphite anode supply chain, AlCircle (2026)
  7. China suspends lithium battery and material export controls for one year, SMM (Shanghai Metals Market) (2025)
  8. Epsilon's lithium-ion battery anode project gets government nod, Business Today (2026)