While there has been a spotlight on possible supply shortages of battery cathode materials, such as lithium and cobalt, as battery demand grows, not as much attention has been paid to graphite, despite the anode material facing the same issues.
Battery demand is mostly being boosted by rising electric vehicle demand, with S&P Global Platts Analytics forecasting global light-duty EV sales to rise to around 26.8 million by 2030, up from 6.29 million in 2021.
By 2030, graphite demand is expected to be triple the current global production of material, Tirupati CEO Shishir Poddar told S&P Global Platts.
“Globally, we produce 1.3-1.4 million mt/year, but most of that goes to applications other than energy storage (10-15%),” Poddar said.
“By 2030, it is estimated that another 4-5 million mt/year of graphite will be needed. Conservatively, around 3.5 million mt/year.”
Tirupati Graphite PLC (LON:TGR) is a fully integrated specialist graphite and graphene producer, with operations in Madagascar and India, with a vision of developing a world-leading benchmark flake graphite company.
