EAF & Needle Coke Supply

Needle Coke is a waste product from oil refineries. Needle coke directly impacts the prices of graphite and the production of steel through an EAF.  The number of EAF productions has increased over recent years, however needle coke supply has remained steady.  

We can expect demand to remain high for electrodes for electric furnace steel in part to the environmental regulations in China and the demand for EV batteries.  Even though there are no needle coke plants in production demand is expected to continue to grow with the advancement of technology.  A decline in demand would most likely occur if the global demand of steel decreased or if the demand switched to natural graphite.  

Let us know what you think.