Global anode material rankings in 1H26: Rivalry among leading players continues

InfoLink Consulting officially launches Global Lithium-ion Battery Anode Materials Database, extending the granularity of its monthly tracking upstream to anode materials following its supply chain database focused on energy storage cells and systems.

According to InfoLink statistics, global anode material shipments reached 1.8 million MT in 1H26, up more than 50% YoY, reflecting a significant recovery in the industry. The market displayed clear structural trends: integrated production capacity among leading suppliers continued to fall short of demand, while second-tier suppliers leveraged their capacity advantages to secure spillover orders from market leaders, driving rapid shipment growth.
 

1H26 market review

In terms of competition, market tiers were clearly differentiated. BTR continued to lead in shipments during 1H26, followed by Shanshan. Kaijin, Kuntian, and Zichen operated at full capacity, steadily increasing their market shares. Leveraging its close partnerships with leading battery manufacturers, KEDA successfully captured market growth opportunities and brought forward capacity expansion. Its shipments surged in 1H26, far exceeding its total volume in 2025.

*Source: InfoLink Global Lithium-ion Battery Anode Materials Database, August 2026
*InfoLink strives for information comprehensiveness, but manufacturers' official data shall prevail in case of any discrepancies with official data.
*The content of this article is provided solely as a reference for market analysis and trend assessment, and does not constitute any endorsement, evaluation, investment advice, or commercial guarantee regarding any enterprise.

From the perspective of downstream demand, energy storage batteries emerged as the industry’s core growth driver, while EV battery demand remained stable. The concentrated delivery of utility-scale energy storage projects outside China significantly boosted demand for long-cycle-life synthetic graphite. Meanwhile, continued growth in battery exports to non-Chinese markets and steadily rising battery capacity per passenger vehicle supported the underlying demand for EV battery anode materials.

In terms of material mix, synthetic graphite accounted for 95% of total shipments in 1H26, maintaining its dominant market position, with shipments growing by more than 51% YoY. BTR slightly overtook Shanshan in synthetic graphite shipments, regaining the top position in the segment. Overall demand for natural graphite remained stable, but industry inventory levels remained elevated, and prices stayed in a weak range. Compared with conventional materials, emerging anode materials recorded rapid growth, with shipments of silicon-carbon anode materials and hard carbon anode materials for sodium-ion batteries rising sharply. However, both segments remain small in scale and have yet to achieve scaled substitution.

*Source: InfoLink Global Lithium-ion Battery Anode Materials Database, August 2026
*InfoLink strives for information comprehensiveness, but manufacturers' official data shall prevail in case of any discrepancies with official data.
*The content of this article is provided solely as a reference for market analysis and trend assessment, and does not constitute any endorsement, evaluation, investment advice, or commercial guarantee regarding any enterprise.

In terms of product applications, the market continued to show clear structural divergence. Demand remained strong for high-end 4C+ fast-charging anode materials and long-cycle energy storage anode materials. Leading suppliers maintained full order books, with production scheduled pushed back to 3Q26, resulting in tight supply for high-end products. In contrast, the mid-range EV anode segment remained well supplied, with intense competition and weaker price elasticity. Overall, the industry has entered a new phase of strong volume growth alongside structural supply tightness, with widening price differentiation between products. Energy-storage-grade synthetic graphite prices recovered to RMB 19,000–21,000/MT, up approximately 11% from the beginning of the year.

On the supply side, graphitization remains a key industry bottleneck. Stricter energy consumption standards and tighter project approvals have slowed the rollout of new compliant graphitization capacity, tightened the availability of outsourced processing capacity, and pushed graphitization tolling fees up to RMB 8,000–10,000/MT. Against this backdrop, leading suppliers with integrated powder processing and graphitization capacity continue to strengthen their cost advantages, widening the profitability gap across the industry. Meanwhile, small and mid-sized suppliers without in-house graphitization capacity face a dual pressure from rising raw material prices and higher tolling fees, further weakening their profitability.

 

Market outlook for 2H26

On the demand side, the lithium-ion battery industry will enter its traditional peak season for production and sales in 2H26. Coupled with the concentrated commissioning and delivery of energy storage projects inside and outside China, this is expected to sustain steady growth in overall anode material shipments.

By segment, energy storage will remain the primary source of incremental demand throughout the year. The concentrated rollout of quota-allocated utility-scale storage projects in China, together with storage demand growth in Europe and the U.S., are expected to further expand underlying demand for synthetic graphite materials designed for long-cycle-life applications.

Meanwhile, as the industrialization of sodium-ion batteries continues to accelerate, hard-carbon anodes are expected to begin small-scale commercial deliveries, opening up long-term growth opportunities for the industry. Demand from EV and consumer batteries is expected to remain broadly stable, jointly supporting the underlying demand base of the anode material market.

On the supply side, the graphitization capacity bottleneck is unlikely to ease rapidly in the near term. Stringent approval requirements and lengthy construction periods for new graphitization capacity will limit effective capacity additions in 2H26. Industry-wide average utilization rates are expected to exceed 90%, entering a tight supply-demand balance.

Stable allocations of outsourced graphitization tolling capacity have become critical to ensuring deliveries for anode material producers in 2H26. Anode material manufacturers are actively competing for limited outsourced capacity; those unable to secure reliable graphitization tolling resources will face considerable delivery pressure even with sufficient orders on hand, directly constraining order fulfillment and shipment pace.

Anode material prices in 2H26 will be supported by both tightening supply-demand conditions and rising costs. Supply tightness will provide a floor for prices, while continued increases in graphitization tolling fees and upward pressure on upstream raw material costs will further squeeze producers’ margins, forcing them to raise prices to offset higher costs. As a result, anode material prices are expected to continue trending upward in 2H26.

Overall, as lithium-ion battery demand continues to grow and anode material producers complete capacity upgrades and bring new capacity online, anode material shipments are expected to maintain rapid growth in 2H26. InfoLink projects that shipments will exceed 3.9 million MT in 2026.
 

As energy storage demand continues to grow and battery technologies evolve rapidly, competition in the global anode materials market is intensifying. Supplier dynamics are also shifting in response to changes in market demand and supply chains. Keeping pace with the latest market developments has therefore become essential for business planning and decision-making.

For deeper insights into the market shifts and supply chain trends behind the rankings, InfoLink’s Global Lithium-ion Battery Anode Materials Database continuously tracks the global anode materials market and provides comprehensive, up-to-date market intelligence across the following areas:

• Monthly shipment tracking covering 20 leading anode material suppliers across China, Japan, and South Korea
• Shipment breakdowns of synthetic and natural graphite products by major suppliers
• Monthly market tracking and analysis, with quarterly updates to the top 10 supplier rankings

Purchase access to InfoLink Global Lithium-ion Battery Anode Materials Database for monthly updates on the global anode material market and deeper insights into supplier competition and industry trends.

Buy now: https://www.infolink-group.com/contact/
 

On data sources

The shipment volumes, rankings, and related information presented in this article are based on data verification through regular interviews with upstream and downstream industry players. For companies that did not proactively provide data, InfoLink has made reasonable estimates based on actual market research.

InfoLink strives for information comprehensiveness, but manufacturers' official data shall prevail in case of any discrepancies.
 

Disclaimer

The content of this article is provided solely as a reference for market analysis and trend assessment, and does not constitute any endorsement, evaluation, investment advice, or commercial guarantee regarding any enterprise. Shipment data and rankings are not necessarily based on information proactively provided by companies; some are derived from third-party sources or InfoLink’s proprietary model estimates.

In the event of any disagreement over the data, the manufacturer’s official disclosure shall prevail. InfoLink reserves the right of final interpretation and explanation of the data sources and research results. Without authorization, no third party may extract or reproduce this content for commercial purposes or quote it in a misleading manner.