Carbon & Graphite Felt Market

Carbon Felt and Graphite Felt Market Size

Carbon Felt and Graphite Felt Market was valued at USD 491 million in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 770 million by 2028, growing at a cagr 9.4% from 2023 to 2028. Over the world, the market is expanding significantly, and during the forecast period, and a similar trend is anticipated. This growth is driven by the increasing demand for high-performance batteries and improved performance of carbon fiber in high-temperature applications.

Carbon and graphite felts are majorly used in high-temperature furnaces and batteries. The need for materials with high conductivity, favorable electrochemical stability, longer lifetimes, reduced fire risk, and recyclability has driven the carbon & graphite felt market in high-performance batteries.

Attractive Opportunities in Carbon & Graphite Felt Market Trends

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Carbon & Graphite Felt Market Dynamics

Driver: Growing demand for high-performance batteries

Batteries are primarily made of electrodes for the efficient storage of energy. The electrode material helps in determining the performance of a battery. Vanadium redox flow, sodium flow, and zinc-bromine flow batteries, among others, use electrodes for electrochemical energy storage applications. The demand for these batteries has been increasing due to their ability to store energy efficiently. The electrodes used in these batteries consist of carbon and graphite felts. These batteries are well-suited as temporary storage for grid stabilization, industrial backup power, integration of renewables such as wind and photovoltaic, and off-grid power supply for mobile radio transmitters and remote households. This increases the use of carbon and graphite felts in these batteries due to their high conductivity, favorable electrochemical stability, longer lifetimes, reduced fire risk, and recyclability.

Restraint: High cost associated with carbon felt manufacturing

Carbon felt is manufactured mainly from carbon fiber due to its high-performance properties, such as high strength, improved resistance to corrosion, and low weight. The manufacturing of carbon felt requires high-end machinery and high technical knowledge due to the brittle nature of carbon fiber in comparison to other raw materials. The manufacturing of felt includes carbonizing, graphitizing, pressing, and curing, among other processes which are cost intensive. Hence, the cost associated with carbon fiber is much higher than other raw materials, such as glass fiber and ceramic fiber. This increases the manufacturing cost of carbon felt.

Opportunity: Growing renewable energy sector

The growing wind and solar energy industries demand batteries capable of storing a high amount of energy generated. Hence, flow batteries combined with a solar panel or wind energy system are used in large renewable energy projects. These batteries are gradually gaining acceptance in the renewable energy industry due to their longer lifespan, reduced fire risk, and recyclability. Furthermore, the flow batteries that are made of carbon and graphite felts have the ability to store energy generated from renewable sources for both long and short-duration applications. Countries such as China and India are increasing their wind & solar energy production to reduce the burden on non-renewable sources. Asia is currently the largest market for renewable energy production. The growing renewable energy projects are likely to increase the demand for flow batteries. This is further expected to have an impact on the demand for carbon and graphite felts due to their increased use in batteries.

Challenge: Production of low-cost carbon fiber for large-volume applications

The high cost of carbon fiber is one of the major concerns associated with its usage in various applications of carbon and graphite felts. Carbon and graphite felts made of carbon fiber are largely used in high-temperature furnaces and batteries. However, carbon fiber is still not widely used in large heat insulation applications due to its high cost. The production of low-cost carbon fiber is likely to increase the use of carbon and graphite felts in applications such as energy storage and heat insulation. However, developing low-cost technologies is a major challenge for researchers and key manufacturers.

Carbon & Graphite Felt Market Ecosystem

Asia Pacific to hold the largest market share in the carbon & graphite felt industry

Asia Pacific is the largest carbon & graphite felt market. The high growth of end-use applications, such as furnaces, batteries, and filters, along with the presence of a large number of organized and unorganized manufacturers, has helped the region to maintain its leading position in the global carbon & graphite felt market. This has made the region a major hub for manufacturing carbon and graphite felts. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of industrial heating systems and furnaces, which drives the demand for carbon and graphite felts. Asia Pacific accounts for more than 30% of the demand for carbon & graphite felts in the batteries application and more than 50% demand in the filters application.

Based on type, carbon felt segment is estimated to account for the largest market share of the carbon & graphite felt industry

Based on the type, carbon felt segment is estimated to account for the largest market share in terms of both, value and volume. The increasing use of carbon felt in applications such as batteries, filters, and electrodes is expected to drive the market during the forecast period. Due to high structural stability, both carbon & graphite felt are expected to show high demand in the upcoming years.

Based on product type, soft felt segment anticipated to dominate the market

The carbon & graphite felt market is categorized into two product types, namely, soft felt and rigid felt. Soft felt has superior structural flexibility, thermal insulation, and is lightweight, making it suitable for furnace and battery applications. Rigid felt has thermal shock resistance that shows improved performance in high temperatures in furnaces. Some of the benefits of rigid felt include low thermal conductivity, high thermal stability, erosion resistance, and ease of processing.

Based on raw material type, PAN segment is projected to account for the largest market share

The global carbon & graphite felt market is categorized into three types based on the raw materials used in its production, namely, PAN, pitch, and rayon. Carbon and graphite felts are produced using these materials either through the carbonization or graphitization processes at very high temperatures ranging from 3,632°F to 6,332°F (2,000°C to 3,500°C). The demand for PAN-, pitch-, and rayon-based carbon & graphite felts may vary because of their different physical properties, usage in different applications, and different manufacturing processes used in their production.

Based on application, furnace segment accounted for the largest market share

The A furnace is a heating equipment that generates heat by using various sources of energy such as fossil fuel, electric energy, or chemical energy. The lifespan of a furnace is 20–30 years, and its efficiency is calculated in terms of annual utilization efficiency. Carbon and graphite felts offer heat insulation, and they help in increasing the efficiency of the furnace.

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Key Market Players

The carbon & graphite felt market is dominated by a few globally established players such SGL Group (Germany), Toray Industries, Inc. (Japan), Kureha Corporation (Japan), Nippon Carbon Co., Ltd. (Japan), Beijing Great Wall Co., Ltd. (China), Chemshine Carbon Co., Ltd. (China), CM Carbon Co., Ltd. (China), Gansu Haoshi Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. (China), CFC Carbon Co., Ltd. (China), and Sinotek Materials (China) among others, are the key manufacturers that secured major contracts in the last few years. Major focus was given to the contracts and new product development due to the changing requirements across the world.

These companies are pursuing a variety of inorganic and organic strategies in order to gain a foothold in the carbon & graphite felt market. The research includes a detailed competitive analysis of these key players in the carbon & graphite felt market, including company profiles, recent developments, and key market strategies.

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Scope of the Report

The study categorizes the composite materials in oil & gas industry market based on Resin type, Fiber type, Application and Region.

By Raw Material Type:

• PAN
• Rayon
• Pitch

By Type:

• Carbon Felt
• Graphite Felt

By Application:

• Furnace
• Batteries
• Filters
• Others

By Product Type:

• Soft Felt
• Rigid Felt

By Region:

• North America
• Asia Pacific
• Europe
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa

Recent Developments

• In September 2021, SGL Carbon is expanding and modernizing its soft felt production. The company invested a single-digit million euros in the last two years into an additional carbonization facility at its Meitingen site near Augsburg, Germany, which is now in regular operation.
• In August 2019, Toray Industries, Inc. is a global leader in the production of low-cost industrial-grade carbon fiber. It announced a new line of carbonized felt and fabric products targeted at energy storage applications. Zoltek’s new carbonized felt and fabric materials are being evaluated and qualified as the battery electrode product of choice for redox flow and other new battery storage technologies.
• In April 2018, Toray Industries, Inc. increased its carbon production capacity at its manufacturing facility located in Nyergesújfalu (Hungary). The manufacturing facility increased ZOLTEK’s global production capacity of its PX35 carbon fiber. This carbon fiber is further used in the manufacturing of carbon felt.

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