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W orld demand for natural and synthetic graphite, including carbon
fiber, is forecast to expand 5.8% per year to reach 4.2 million met-
ric tons in 2018, with a market value of nearly $30 billion. Further, an
overall strengthening of the global economy will bode well for all forms
of graphite, say analysts at The Freedonia Group Inc., Cleveland, in their
new study, World Graphite (Natural, Synthetic & Carbon Fiber). In par-
ticular, accelerating demand for steel and other metals will benefit syn-
thetic graphite electrodes, which are essential for electric arc furnace steel
production, as well as synthetic graphite powders and natural graphite
used in other metallurgy applications.
Synthetic graphite demand is forecast to grow 5.7% annually to more
than 2.8 million metric tons, valued at more than $25 billion. The increas-
ing use of electric arc furnaces to
produce steel in most parts of the
world will boost sales of electrodes,
the leading synthetic graphite prod-
uct. The rise of advanced products
such as graphene and fuel cells will
boost demand for synthetic graphite
as well.
Demand for carbon fiber is ex-
pected to grow at a double-digit an-
nual pace as its use in aerospace,
automotive, wind turbine, and
other applications sharply in-
creases, say analysts. Manufactur-
ers are expected to incorporate
greater amounts of carbon fiber
into their products for weight re-
duction and improved strength. The cost of carbon fiber is expected to
gradually decline due to technological innovation, which will further en-
hance its attractiveness to manufacturers. As a result, sales of carbon fiber
will reach 120,000 metric tons by 2018, valued at $2.8 billion.
In the natural segment, flake graphite will continue to capture market
share from amorphous graphite, as high-tech applications become more
important and the availability of flake graphite greatly increases. Interest
in flake graphite increased dramatically with the rise of lithium-ion bat-
teries. For example, Tesla’s new “Giga Factory” for lithium-ion batteries,
due to begin U.S. production in 2017, is expected to significantly boost
natural graphite demand. If run at full capacity, the plant will require
about 100,000 metric tons of flake graphite annually.
Due to its large manufacturing economy, China is the leading con-
sumer of synthetic and natural graphite, using nearly 1.1 million met-
ric tons in 2013, one-third of global sales. Among other major
consumers are the U.S., Japan, India, South Korea, Germany, and Rus-
sia. Carbon fiber demand is scattered among the developed economies
of Western Europe, Japan, and the U.S., as well as China, although the
U.S., Japan, and Germany are leading suppliers. For more information,
visit .
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • OCTOBER 2014 4
spot l ight feedback
market
Global demand for graphite
to reach $30 billion in 2018
Celebrating cooperative engineering
The new “Metallurgy Lane” depart-
ment does a nice job clearly explaining
one historical advance at a time in a brief
format that attracts busy metallurgists.
As soon as AM&P arrives each month,
this is what I look for and read while eat-
ing lunch at my desk. I recently wrote to
the author, Charles Simcoe, praising his
accounts and sending him some infor-
mation where Canadian and U.S. engi-
neering cooperate. One example is the
Victoria Truss Bridge built in 1898 (27
spans of 70 m across the St. Lawrence
at Montreal), which replaced a single
track wrought iron bridge from 1859.
With a design and Bessemer steel from
Carnegie, Pittsburgh, the double track
was built around the tube with advanc-
ing construction spans from both ends.
The double track truss with external
roadways on each side has four times
the carrying capacity of the old bridge,
but with only twice the weight. It still pro-
vides the critical link in transcontinental
traffic for both Canadian National Rail-
way and Via Rail passengers as well as
commuter lines.
Hugh J. McQueen
Concordia University, Montreal
Victoria Truss Bridge, built in 1898.
Courtesy of Hugh McQueen.
Pastimes should make Putin proud
I was reading the last few pages of an
older edition of AM&P (July 2013) when
I spotted the “Pastimes” item entitled
Respect the Metallurgist by Jon Bryant
from the July 1983 Metal Progress.
Bryant laments the lack of a National
Metallurgist Day. Turns out his wish has
been answered, at least in Russia: Visit
In
part, the site proclaims, “Metallurgist
Day was approved by the USSR gov-
ernment in 1957 and since that time,
the third Sunday of July became a pro-
fessional holiday for all employees of
the industry. Metallurgy embraces the
processes of obtaining metals from ores
or other materials, changing the chemi-
cal ingredients, structure, and properties
of metallic alloys, and shaping them.
There would be no other industries with-
out metallurgists.”
Tony Wells
Australian Transport Safety Bureau
We welcome all comments and
suggestions. Send letters to
.
World Graphite Demand by Region, 2013
(3.2 million metric tons)
Source: The Freedonia Group Inc.
Africa/Mideast
7.3%
Asia/Pacific
56.2%
North America
11.5%
Western
Europe
13.0%
Eastern Europe
8.1%
Central &
South America
3.9%