China's Keda Group plans 500,000-mt/year anode material project in Inner Mongolia

China's Keda Industrial Group plans to invest about 4.5 billion yuan ($670 million) in a 500,000 metric ton per year integrated graphite anode material project in Inner Mongolia, the company said in a filing released late Sept. 22.

The development comes as battery material producers continue expanding capacity to meet expected demand growth from the energy storage and electric vehicle sectors.

The project will be developed by Keda Group's subsidiary Fujian Keda New Energy in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, with construction expected to begin in October and take about 10-12 months to complete, according to the filing.

The project will comprise an integrated artificial graphite anode material production base, including processing facilities and supporting infrastructure, such as offices and dormitories.

Keda Group said the investment forms part of its strategy to expand its lithium battery materials business and strengthen cooperation with key customers amid growing demand for energy storage and battery raw materials.

The company currently has about 150,000 mt/year of integrated artificial graphite anode material capacity and expects that figure to rise to 180,000 mt/year after completing ongoing debottlenecking and technical upgrade projects in 2026.

"The scale of production capacity has become an increasingly important consideration for major downstream customers when selecting suppliers," the company said, adding that larger-scale operations are critical to maintaining market share and securing long-term contracts.

Keda Group's existing customer base is concentrated in the energy storage battery sector, and the company said the new project would support future demand growth while helping it expand into additional storage and electric vehicle battery supply chains.

The company cited strong growth in global battery demand. Global lithium-ion energy storage battery shipments reached 461.3 GWh in the first half of 2026, up 71% year over year, while power battery installations rose 20% to 608.5 GWh over the same period, according to SNE Research data cited by Keda Group.

Global anode material production totaled approximately 1.96 million mt in the first half of 2026, up 50% year over year, with China's share of global output rising to 99.6%, according to data from domestic research agency ICCSINO.

The penetration rate of artificial graphite anode materials increased to 95%, reflecting their growing dominance in the battery supply chain.

ICCSINO forecasts global anode material production will reach around 4.1 million mt for the full year 2026.

Keda Group's announcement comes alongside a separate capacity push by Ningbo Shanshan Technology.

Ningbo Shanshan said Sept. 23 it plans to invest 5.11 billion yuan in a new integrated anode materials base, also in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.

The project would add 150,000 mt/year of lithium-ion battery anode materials capacity and 50,000 mt/year of graphitization capacity. Construction is scheduled to start in March 2027 and conclude in July 2028, the company said.

The company said the project aims to address a widening capacity gap amid growing demand from the EV and energy storage sectors and support long-term customer order fulfillment.

Market participants have increasingly focused on production economics for battery raw materials after several years of rapid expansion led to oversupply in parts of the battery materials chain.

Asian graphite market edges up

China's natural graphite prices rose slightly amid positive sentiment.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed natural flake graphite at $450/mt FOB China on Sept. 23, unchanged day over day but up $5/mt week over week. The assessment reflects material with 94%-95% carbon content and minus-100 mesh particle size loaded at Qingdao.

On a delivered basis, Platts assessed natural flake graphite at $550/mt CIF Northeast Asia Sept. 23, also up $5/mt week over week.

Meanwhile, Platts assessed uncoated spherical graphite, a key battery anode material, at $1,510/mt FOB China and $1,610/mt CIF Northeast Asia Sept. 23, both up $5/mt from a week earlier.