Hard Carbon Anode Supply: Top Suppliers and Best Procurement Sources in 2025

Hard Carbon Anode Supply: As a key component in sodium-ion batteries, anode materials must exhibit high consistency. For hard carbon, structural uniformity is primarily determined by the properties of the precursor material and the carbonization process. Achieving high-consistency hard carbon requires the use of precursors with excellent uniformity and precise thermal control during carbonization.

However, industrial-scale hard carbon production faces a major bottleneck: the lack of low-cost, mass-producible precursor materials. Moreover, the synthesis process of hard carbon is complex, with intricate structure–performance relationships and a high technological barrier (Know-How), all of which significantly increase manufacturing costs.

Currently, high-end hard carbon products are priced at RMB 150,000–200,000 per ton, while mainstream products in China range from RMB 50,000–100,000 per ton. There is an urgent need to develop low-cost hard carbon materials. Due to the challenges mentioned above, only a limited number of companies are currently capable of supplying hard carbon anode materials at scale.

Diversified Hard Carbon Production Pathways

Hard carbon is primarily synthesized through hydrothermal or chemical processing of organic compounds or biomass-based precursors. Depending on the origin of the precursor, hard carbon can be categorized into resin-based (e.g., phenolic resin, epoxy resin, polyfurfuryl alcohol), pitch-based (e.g., coal tar pitch, petroleum pitch, natural asphalt), and biomass-based (e.g., cellulose, lignin, starch) types.

Resin-based hard carbon offers the highest electrochemical performance, though it also comes with the highest cost. Its advantages lie in the ability to precisely and controllably engineer tunable pore structures, surface chemistry, and molecular-level active sites, making it ideal for high-performance applications.

Pitch-based hard carbon benefits from abundant and low-cost feedstocks, including coal- and petroleum-derived pitches. However, raw pitches are inherently prone to graphitization, and direct carbonization often leads to graphitic structures. Therefore, pre-oxidation is required prior to carbonization to inhibit graphitization. Additionally, pitch materials contain high levels of volatiles, necessitating off-gas treatment systems that increase production costs. Current pitch-based processes remain immature, and the resulting hard carbon typically exhibits lower specific capacity.

Biomass-derived hard carbon uses a wide range of raw materials, such as walnut shells, fruit husks, pomelo peels, and various plant and animal tissues. This route provides moderate electrochemical performance but offers broad material availability and relatively low cost, making it the most commonly adopted approach among hard carbon producers today.

Representative companies engaged in biomass-based hard carbon anode production include Kuraray, BestGraphene (佰思格), Yuanli Stock (元力股份), Shengquan Group (圣泉集团), and Chuanyi Technology (传艺科技).

Established Hard Carbon Supplier: Kuraray

Kuraray, a Japanese company, has successfully commercialized hard carbon anode materials. The company utilizes coconut shells as the precursor, undergoing a multi-step process including carbonization, crushing, alkali treatment, high-temperature purification, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD)—the latter being particularly challenging in terms of process control and cost.

The resulting hard carbon exhibits an energy density of 350 mAh/g, with an initial coulombic efficiency exceeding 95% and cycle life over 3,000 cycles. The average market price of the product is approximately RMB 200,000 per ton, with an estimated production capacity of around 2,000 tons per year.

BestGraphene

BestGraphene is the first company in China to achieve mass production of hard carbon materials for both sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries, positioning itself as a domestic counterpart to Japan’s Kuraray.

The company utilizes a range of biomass feedstocks, including glucose, starch, cellulose, lignin, wood chips, bamboo shavings, coconut shells, and nut shells. Through modification treatment, pyrolytic polycondensation, carbonization, and surface modification, BestGraphene produces hard carbon materials optimized for fast-charging sodium-ion batteries. Compared to international peers, the company’s process is simpler and more cost-effective.

Currently, the company offers two commercial-grade sodium-ion hard carbon products on its official website:

• YHC-1: Focused on low cost, with a specific capacity ≥280 mAh/g, priced at approximately RMB 60,000 per ton.
• NHC-330: Focused on high energy density, with a specific capacity ≥330 mAh/g, priced around RMB 80,000 per ton.

A new product, NHC-360, is planned for release in late 2024 or 2025, targeting a specific capacity of 360–380 mAh/g.

Production Capacity:

• Current: 2,000 tons/year
• 2023 Expansion Goal: 10,000 tons/year
• 2025 Expansion Target: 50,000 tons/year

No	Item		Unit	Specifca tion	Typical Value
1	Specific capacity		mAh/g	≥330	332.5
2	First efficiency		%	≥88	90.5
3	Particle	D10	um	2.0-6.0	4.87
		D50		8.0-12.0	9.25
		D90		16.0-22.0	18.83
		D100		≤50	43.55
4	Ash		%	≤0.4	0.20
5	Moisture		%	≤0.1	0.06
6	Tap Density		g/cm3	0.75±0.1	0.77
7	SSA		m2/g	≤5.0	3.58

BTR

BTR began developing hard carbon anode technology as early as 2009. The company currently has an installed production capacity of 400 tons per year, with plans to scale up to the 1,000-ton level by the end of 2023.

On May 16, 2023, BTR announced its next-generation hard carbon anode material — “Tanno-350”. This material delivers a specific capacity of up to 350 mAh/g and an initial coulombic efficiency of 90%. It is currently in the pilot production stage.

Shanshan Corporation

Shanshan Corporation began R&D on hard carbon materials in 2016. By 2022, it had already achieved ton-level sales to domestic customers. The company’s production capacity is planned to reach the 1,000-ton scale in 2023.

Emerging Hard Carbon Anode Supplys Expected to Begin Shipments in 2024

Do-Fluoride New Materials

Do-Fluoride has completed construction of a 300-ton-per-year anode production line at its Jiaozuo facility, with a 2,000-ton-per-year production line currently under development and expected to commence operations soon.

Yuanli Stock

As a leading producer of wood-based activated carbon in China, Yuanli holds a distinct advantage in the precursor pretreatment, carbonization, and purification phases of hard carbon production. Currently, the company uses coconut shells as its main biomass precursor and plans to shift toward Moso bamboo in the future.

In 2023, Yuanli planned to complete construction of a pilot-scale line with a capacity in the 1,000-ton range, targeting effective annual shipments of 1,000–2,000 tons. The company has set a long-term production capacity target of 50,000 tons per year for hard carbon.

Shengquan Group

Shengquan Group’s biomass-based hard carbon anode material is a flagship product of its integrated “bio-refinery” platform based on the Shengquan Bio-Solvent Method. The key advantage lies in the in-house production of biocarbon precursors, which offers high controllability and uniformity. These hard carbon materials combine the favorable characteristics of both biomass and resin-based systems, likely benefiting from Shengquan’s existing core business in phenolic and furan resins.

As a result, the produced electrode sheets feature a high compaction density of no less than 1.1 g/cm³, along with excellent consistency and performance stability. The first-generation product delivers a specific capacity of ~300 mAh/g and initial coulombic efficiency ≥88%.

On December 16, 2022, Shengquan announced a ¥2.48 billion investment to build a 100,000-ton/year bio-based hard carbon anode material facility. The first phase, 10,000 tons/year, was scheduled to be completed in H1 2023, with an initial product price of approximately ¥65,000/ton. Further cost reductions are expected as capacity ramps up.

The second-generation material, now lab-tested, exceeds 330 mAh/g in specific capacity, with an initial coulombic efficiency >90% and further improved compaction density, offering enhanced performance characteristics.

Jiana Energy

Jiana Energy has developed three generations of hard carbon anode materials tailored to different precursor sources and synthesis routes:

• Gen-1 (Low-cost biomass-based): ~280 mAh/g
• Gen-2 (Decontaminated biomass-based): ~330 mAh/g
• Gen-3 (High-end custom-grade): up to 400 mAh/g

Commercialization is being rolled out progressively for each generation.

In 2022, the company achieved kilogram-scale continuous production of hard carbon and began sample validation with top-tier customers. It completed Series A financing in November 2022, followed by 100-kg batch customer samples in March 2023, ISO certification in May, and commissioning of kiloton-scale anode and cathode lines in June.

Conclusion

Xiaowei New Energy has been deeply rooted in the new energy industry for many years, with extensive sourcing channels for raw materials. We are well-equipped to support a wide range of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery production and research applications, offering cost-effective and high-quality hard carbon and other battery materials.

We warmly welcome your inquiries and look forward to supporting your procurement needs.