Analysis of China’s Lithium Battery Grade Conductive Carbon Black Market Current Situation and Development Prospects in 2023

Conductive agent is one of the key auxiliary materials for lithium batteries. It can increase the conductive contact between active materials and increase the transmission rate of electrons in the electrode, thus improving the rate performance and cycle life of lithium batteries. Currently, conductive agents in lithium batteries mainly include conductive carbon black, carbon nanotube conductive agents, carbon fiber conductive agents and graphene conductive agents. Among them, lithium-ion grade conductive carbon black is the most widely used conductive agent in current lithium batteries.

Conductive carbon black can be mainly divided into SP, Ketjen black and acetylene black. Acetylene black is produced by converting the battery into acetylene and then using the purified acetylene to isolate the air at high temperature for thermal cracking, and then cooling and collecting it. The product has low metal impurity content but low structural value and high dispersion difficulty. It is a medium and low-end conductive product. Carbon black. SP carbon black is an oil-furnace method conductive carbon black. It has a large structural value and a small specific surface area and is easy to disperse. It is the main conductive carbon black product in the market. Ketjen black has good energy efficiency, purity and conductivity, but it is difficult to disperse and expensive. It mainly relies on imports, which hinders the application of the product.

Lithium battery-grade conductive carbon black is more cost-effective than carbon nanotube conductive agents, carbon fiber conductive agents and other products. China’s carbon black industry has a large number of manufacturing companies, but they are mainly concentrated in carbon black products used in the tire industry. There is insufficient accumulation in areas such as lithium battery grade conductive carbon black, resulting in a high level of domestic dependence on the import of lithium battery grade conductive carbon black. The barriers to production of conductive carbon black products are high, mainly due to technical barriers. The carbon black products currently produced by most Chinese companies have many impurities, and the carbon black structural value is difficult to meet the requirements for conductive carbon black. The content of metal impurities in carbon black will greatly affect battery safety, so it is necessary to reduce the content of impurities in the entire process of raw materials, equipment, and production.

The “2023-2027 Lithium Grade Conductive Carbon Black Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report compiled and released by the Industrial Research Center shows that , with the continued rapid growth of global lithium battery shipments, the lithium battery-related industrial chain has been driven, and the market demand for lithium battery-grade conductive carbon black products has also grown rapidly. China is currently the world’s largest lithium battery manufacturer. Under the background of the carbon neutral carbon peak strategy, China’s new energy vehicle penetration rate is still expected to increase, and lithium battery output is still expected to continue to grow in the next few years. The demand for conductive agent products Volume also continues to grow.

Currently, the world’s major lithium battery-grade conductive carbon black companies are French Iridite, Japanese Lion and Hexing Chemical. Among them, French Iridite’s products are SP carbon black, Hexing Chemical’s products are acetylene black, and Japanese Lion’s products are Ke Piano black. As of February 2022, Hexing Chemical has an annual production capacity of acetylene black of 15,000 tons. It is expected to build 22 carbon black production lines by 2023, with a total annual production capacity of conductive carbon black of 40,000 tons; by 2025, it will achieve an annual production capacity of 6,000 tons of conductive slurry. Black Cat Co., Ltd. is the domestic carbon black leader, with a conductive carbon black production capacity of 10,000 tons/year, and plans to build a new lithium battery-grade conductive carbon black of 50,000 tons/year.

It is expected that in the next few years, the market demand for conductive agent products for lithium batteries in China will continue to grow rapidly, the domestic production capacity of lithium battery-grade conductive carbon black will continue to grow, and domestic substitution is expected to accelerate.