2026 Carbon Industry News

I. Industry Policies and Association Updates (Latest for 2026)

● Commencement of the "15th Five-Year Plan": The China Carbon Materials Industry Association has initiated the formulation of the industry's "15th Five-Year Plan", clearly defining the paths for upgrading, intelligence, and green transformation, and resolutely curbing the repetitive construction of low-end production capacity and "competitive over-expansion" in the market.

● Implementation of Two National Standards: Starting from March 1st, GB/T1429-2025 "Industrial Analysis Methods for Carbon Materials" and GB/T9973-2025 "Test Methods for Permeability of Carbon Materials" have been officially implemented. Fangda Carbon Materials, among others, led the formulation.

● Graphite Electrode Summit: On March 9th, a seminar was held in Kaifeng. Leading enterprises discussed controlling production, maintaining prices, improving quality, and reducing costs to cope with the pressure of overcapacity and rising raw material prices.

II. Technological Breakthroughs (Major Advances in 2026)

● T1200 grade carbon fiber mass production: Zhongfu Shenying (Lianyungang) SYT80 (T1200) has achieved a hundred-ton-scale mass production with a strength of over 8000 MPa, leading globally and breaking the foreign monopoly.

● AI + Carbon Application: Fangda Carbon & Jingtai Technology, the intelligent formula system for graphite electrodes has been launched, optimizing raw material ratios with cost reduction and quality improvement through AI.

● Green Metallurgy Research: Fangda Carbon & North University of Science and Technology, developing the electric arc furnace melting and DRI technology, reducing emissions by approximately 75%.

● Nuclear-grade Graphite Certification: Fangda Carbon has been recognized as an outstanding supplier for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors.

III. Capacity and Market (2026 Landscape)

● Pre-baked Anode (for aluminum): Sotong has completed the commissioning of the 600,000-ton project in Guangxi, with a total capacity of 4.5 million tons (market share ≈ 19%).

● Graphite Electrodes: Domestic effective production capacity is 2.4 million tons, with an output of approximately 950,000 tons, resulting in a severe oversupply. The industry calls for production restrictions to maintain prices.

● Negative Electrode Materials: The capacity expansion outpaces demand, leading to structural oversupply. High-end products are in short supply, while the low-end market is in a state of internal competition.

● Export Control: The Ministry of Commerce implements export control on high-purity, high-strength, and high-density graphite, affecting the overseas lithium battery and aerospace supply chains.

IV. Enterprise Dynamics (Leading Companies)

● Fangda Carbon: Strategic cooperation with CATL; the testing center has passed the CNAS re-evaluation.

● Kaifeng Pingmei New Carbon Materials: Has been recognized as a national-level "small giant" specialized and innovative enterprise.

● Datong Xincheng New Materials: The carbon slide plate for electric bows has obtained the CRCC certification.

● Shanxi Juyan Graphite: Participated in the revision of the national standard "Industrial Analysis Methods for Carbon Materials".

V. Industry Challenges and Trends

● Core Issues: Excess capacity in the low-end sector, insufficient supply in the high-end sector, and compressed profits.

● Transformation Directions:

1. Green and Low-carbon: Green power substitution, waste graphite recycling, energy-saving roasting

2. Intelligent Upgrade: Intelligent furnaces, AI quality control, digital factories

3. High-end Breakthrough: Carbon fibers, nuclear graphite, semiconductor carbon materials, hydrogen energy carbon materials