Anode Materials

What it is

The anode is the electrode that stores lithium ions when a battery is charged. Today it is almost all graphite, natural or artificial, with some silicon added. It is the counterpart of the cathode, and goes into battery cells.

Where China stands

Two listed companies show the range:

• BTR (贝特瑞, 920185.BJ) sold over 330,000 tonnes of anode in the first half of 2026, up 22.97%, with revenue of ¥7.56bn, up 20.4%. Its anode gross margin fell 2.88 points to 22.71%, and group net profit fell 20.1% to ¥382.5m (2026 interim report, pp. 9, 11, 15).
• Putailai (璞泰来, 603659.SH) sold 95,200 tonnes, up 37.45%, with its bases at full capacity and a 100,000-tonne Sichuan phase one ramping up. It reports a record in anode orders and tight industry supply, and group net profit rose 37.6% to ¥1.45bn (2026 interim report, pp. 12, 13).

BTR says its raw material and processing costs rose and that competition was intense. To keep up with demand it is using outsourced processing and leased capacity, and its Indonesian plant is ramping (BTR report, p. 11). Putailai says it improved cost through graphitisation changes and new products, and that its graphitisation temperature control shortens cooling time in the Sichuan plant (Putailai pp. 13, 14).

Tight supply, uneven profit

Putailai describes anode supply as tight and its order book as a record, but BTR's results show higher volume with a lower margin. The filings do not explain the gap. Putailai's group profit also includes separator coating and base film and battery equipment, not only anode, so its profit growth is not an anode figure (Putailai report, pp. 12, 13).

Our view: higher volume did not reliably bring higher profit in the first half. Anode makers say the market is tight, but the largest of them saw its margin fall, so capacity and cost control, not demand, appear to decide who gains.

What to watch

• Margins. BTR's 22.71% anode margin and its 6C fast-charge graphite and solid-state materials are the main points to track (BTR p. 11).
• New capacity. Putailai's Sichuan project and BTR's Indonesia base are the capacity additions the filings name.
• Outsourcing. BTR's use of leased and outsourced capacity could weigh on margin if volumes ease.