Development Trends of the Graphite Electrode and Specialty Graphite Industry in 2026

In 2026, China's carbon industry is in a critical period of structural adjustment and capacity upgrading. Driven by the rising proportion of electric arc furnace steelmaking in the steel industry, the rapid development of new energy industry and strong demand for photovoltaic thermal field materials, the market demand for graphite electrode and special graphite materials maintains steady growth, which brings broad development space for LINZHANG XINHUI CARBON CO.,LTD.

In the first quarter of 2026, the apparent consumption of domestic ultra-high power graphite electrode increased by about 12.4% year on year to 186,000 tons, and the demand for regular power graphite electrode rose by about 6.8% driven by the resumption of production of small and medium-sized electric arc furnace steel plants. Meanwhile, the application proportion of isostatic pressing graphite in the sintering process of lithium battery anode materials has risen to 47%, and the total scale of anode graphitization OEM market has exceeded 32 billion yuan with a CAGR of 15.3%, creating favorable market conditions for LINZHANG XINHUI CARBON CO.,LTD.'s business expansion.

On the supply side, industry concentration is further enhanced. Head enterprises with large-scale and full-industry-chain advantages maintain a capacity utilization rate of over 85%, while small and medium-sized carbon enterprises face elimination pressure due to rising environmental protection costs and fluctuating prices of needle coke raw material (its average price in Q1 2026 rose by 8.2% year on year). Relying on standardized production management, complete product system and authoritative quality system certification, LINZHANG XINHUI CARBON CO.,LTD. has stood out in the industry reshuffle.

The market has put forward higher requirements for the mechanical properties, thermal shock resistance and steel consumption per ton of graphite electrode. For example, the average industry consumption of ultra-high power graphite electrode has dropped from 1.8kg/t steel in 2023 to 1.52kg/t steel in 2026, and that of head enterprises is further below 1.38kg/t steel. Facing this trend, LINZHANG XINHUI CARBON CO.,LTD. has accelerated technological breakthroughs in raw material proportioning, roasting process and graphitization link, continuously optimized product performance, and built core competitiveness to adapt to industry upgrading.