(Yicai) Jan. 10 -- China turned out 97 percent of the world's battery anode materials last year, led by artificial graphite giants Shanghai Shanshan Technology and BTR New Material Group, according to new data.

Compared with 2022, there was a 20 percent increase in anode material production worldwide last year, reaching 1.8 million tons, figures published yesterday by consulting firm Shanghai Iccsino Data Technology showed.

BTR produced about 22 percent of the total, ranking first globally by capacity for the 11th year in a row. Shanshan was the main producer of artificial graphite anode material globally, providing 19 percent of the total with shipments of 1.7 million tons worldwide and a 95 percent share of the Chinese market. 

Anode materials became 20 percent to 30 percent cheaper last year due to oversupply, according to Iccsino Data, with demand for silica-based materials coming in below expectations. Also, falling prices of lithium carbonate impacted the market for sodium-ion batteries, and hard-carbon anode material has failed to make a breakthrough in terms of scale. 

Battery anode material prices will continue to fall this year, Iccsino Data noted, adding that developing silicon-based anode materials will remain the focus for new products and technology, while natural graphite anode materials will face greater price competition pressure from artificial graphite anode materials.

The company also said that it expects global anode material capacity to reach about 2.1 million tons this year.

Editor: Tom Litting