my country’s prebaked anode production is gradually increasing, with Shandong Province accounting for the largest share of production capacity

Prebaked anodes are one of the subcategories of carbon products. They are chemical raw materials made from petroleum coke as aggregate and coal pitch as binder, through multiple processes such as medium crushing, screening, batching, molding and roasting. . Prebaked anodes are mainly used as anode materials in electrolytic cells during the electrolysis of aluminum. They can not only serve as conductors, but also participate in electrochemical reactions. Their quality directly has an important impact on the quality of raw aluminum.

From the upstream of the industrial chain, petroleum coke has become the main raw material for the production of prebaked anodes. Driven by downstream market demand, my country’s petroleum coke production has gradually increased. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, my country’s total petroleum coke production in 2022 will be approximately 27.7825 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 1.07%. The growth in my country’s petroleum coke production has provided sufficient raw materials for the rapid development of the prebaked anode market.

Since every ton of electrolytic aluminum produced requires 0.5 tons of prebaked anodes, the development of the prebaked anode industry is closely related to the electrolytic aluminum market. As automobiles gradually shift toward lightweighting, aluminum alloy materials have been widely used in the automobile market due to their advantages such as light weight, high strength, and easy processing. And in the field of photovoltaics, aluminum alloys can also be used to make photovoltaic brackets to enhance the overall strength of the components. Overall, the market demand for aluminum alloys is relatively large. As electrolytic aluminum is the main raw material for the production of aluminum alloys, the market demand has grown accordingly, which has led to a gradual increase in the market demand for prebaked anodes.

According to the “2023-2028 Prebaked Anode Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospect Forecast Analysis Report” released by the Industrial Research Center, Driven by downstream market demand, my country’s prebaked anode companies have gradually expanded their production scale and their output has increased. According to data from Soton Development’s annual report, in 2022, my country’s total prebaked anode output will be 21.5114 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.52%.

From the perspective of production capacity distribution, my country’s prebaked anode production capacity is mainly concentrated in Shandong, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Xinjiang, Qinghai and other provinces. Among them, Shandong Province has become the province with the largest prebaked anode production capacity in my country, accounting for 30.89%; followed by Henan Province, with a production capacity share of 12.51%; Xinjiang Province ranked third, with a production capacity share of 11.97%.

In the context of dual carbon, many provinces and cities in my country have successively issued policies to control the development of high-energy-consuming industries, strictly prohibiting the addition of high-energy-consuming production capacity such as electrolytic aluminum. Therefore, my country’s electrolytic aluminum industry has ushered in a structural upgrade, continuously clearing out backward and illegal production capacity, and transferring production capacity to areas rich in hydropower such as Yunnan. Prebaked anodes, as an ancillary industry of electrolytic aluminum, have also gradually transferred their production capacity to southwest and other regions. .

Industry analysts said that at present, there are a relatively large number of pre-baked anode companies in my country, which can be roughly divided into self-prepared pre-baked anode companies , commercial prebaked anode companies, etc. Among them, self-prepared prebaked anode companies mainly include Chalco, Wanji Aluminum, Zhongfu Industrial, Tiansong Carbon, etc.; commercial prebaked anode companies mainly include Soton Development, Aohai Carbon, etc. At present, Soton develops a large market share and has become a leading company in the prebaked anode industry.