BTR New Energy Materials
HQ CN26% share
World's largest synthetic graphite anode material producer; ~26% global share. Primary supplier to CATL, LG Energy Solution, and Panasonic.
manufactured · input
Synthetic graphite (anode grade)
Primary anode active material; requires >99.95% C purity after graphitization at 2800–3000 °C. China produces ~92% of global battery-grade supply.
4
Source countries
4
Companies
1
Goods affected
0
Claims on record
What depends on it
Goods that need this input
1 essential American goods rely on synthetic graphite (anode grade) somewhere upstream in their supply chain.
Where it comes from
Source countries
Share of global supply, by country.
| Country | Share of supply |
|---|---|
| CNChina | 92% |
| KRSouth Korea | 4% |
| JPJapan | 2% |
| USUnited States | 1% |
Who makes it
Supplier companies
4 companies produce synthetic graphite (anode grade).
Shanshan Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
HQ CN18% share
Chinese battery materials company (SZSE: 600884; HQ Changsha, Hunan; parent Shanshan Corporation); world's 2nd-largest battery anode material manufacturer (~18% global share) and also a significant cathode material producer. Shanshan Energy (formerly Putailai New Energy Technology / Shanghai Putailai) produces synthetic graphite anodes for Li-ion batteries via petroleum needle coke graphitization. Shanshan Corporation (parent) is a Ningbo-based conglomerate historically known for fashion retail (Shanshan men's suits) that pivoted massively into lithium battery materials in the early 2000s — becoming one of China's first and largest EV battery material companies while its parent still sells business suits. The same Chinese conglomerate that makes business suits also makes the graphite anode material inside CATL and LG Energy Solution batteries.
POSCO Future M Co., Ltd. (formerly POSCO Chemical)
HQ KR5% share
South Korean battery materials company (KRX: 003670; HQ Pohang, South Gyeongsang; POSCO Group subsidiary; formerly POSCO Chemical, renamed POSCO Future M in 2023); produces both anode materials (synthetic and natural graphite) and cathode materials (NMC, LFP) for Korean battery manufacturers (LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, SK On) and Tier 1 global EV makers. POSCO is South Korea's largest steelmaker (and one of the world's most efficient integrated steel producers) — its chemical/materials subsidiary POSCO Future M represents Korea's vertical integration strategy from steel into EV battery materials. The same POSCO that revolutionized Korean steel manufacturing in the 1970s-80s now makes the battery materials for Korean EV batteries competing with Chinese CATL. POSCO recently acquired stake in Pilbara Minerals (Australia) and is developing Argentina lithium resources — building a Korean-controlled battery material supply chain from mine to cell.
GrafTech International Holdings Inc.
HQ US3% share
American graphite electrode and specialty graphite products company (NYSE: EAF, HQ Parma Ohio; formerly Brookfield Asset Management portfolio company); the world's leading producer of ultra-high power (UHP) graphite electrodes for electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking — and the primary US producer of petroleum needle coke, which is the feedstock for both graphite electrodes AND synthetic graphite battery anodes. GrafTech's Clarksburg West Virginia needle coke facility (one of only a handful of petroleum needle coke facilities in the world) produces the specialized petroleum-derived carbon precursor that is graphitized to produce synthetic graphite. When EAF steel production surges (green steel transition driving EAF adoption), graphite electrode demand rises, needle coke tightens, and battery anode graphite production costs rise simultaneously. GrafTech went public in 2018 and entered long-term contracts for graphite electrodes; its needle coke production connects US EAF steel manufacturing directly to global battery anode supply.