China’s Jereh launches graphite anode material plant

: Metals
22/12/16

Chinese carbon products maker Jereh New Energy launched its graphite anode material plant in Tianshui city in northwest China's Gansu province on 11 December.

The plant, with a total investment of 2.5bn yuan ($360mn), has a designed production capacity of 100,000 t/yr of artificial graphite anode materials and 20,000 t/yr of silicon-carbon and silicon oxide anode materials.

Site construction started on 11 March this year and the production began on 11 December.

Jereh New Energy is a subsidiary of Shenzhen-listed Jereh, which provides products, services and systematic solutions for the oil, gas and environmental management sectors. Jereh is also exploring producing environmental sanitation equipment and anode materials.

Jereh will supply petroleum coke, a key feedstock for artificial graphite anode materials, to Jereh New Energy. Petcoke is a by-product of the oil refining process and is also used to produce graphite anodes, which are key to electrolytic aluminium production. It is separately used as a solid fuel in the glass industry and for silicon metal manufacturing.

Gansu province is a key anode material production hub in China with lower electricity prices, which has attracted several anode material producers to build plants in the province.

The electricity consumption for one tonne of anode material is 11,000-15,000KWh, with more than 60pc used in the graphitisation process.

Chinese carbon materials producer Lanzhou Graphene is building a 30,000-50,000 t/yr graphitisation plant in Lanzhou city in Gansu province, which is scheduled to be launched in December.

Carbon materials producer Baowu Carbon, a subsidiary of China's largest steel mill Baowu Steel, is on track to launch a plant with a designed capacity of 100,000 t/yr of anode materials and 100,000 t/yr of graphitisation in Lanzhou in 2024-2026.

China's lithium-ion battery anode material producers Hunan Zhongke Shinzoom and Chongqing Findreams, a subsidiary of China's major new energy vehicle (NEV) lithium-ion battery manufacturer BYD, have invested in another Lanzhou-based anode material plant, which is under construction.

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