According to the equipment classification standard of China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), the electric furnaces are classified based on the sizes: 100 tonnes and above as the leading level, 75 to 99 tonnes as the advanced level, 60 to 74 tonnes as the general level, and the electric furnace below 60 tonnes as the backward level.
As per the estimates, in 2017-18, China has added 170 electric furnaces out of which 43 of them are of more than 100 tonnes capacity accounting for 25%. Given the high production efficiency and sustainability, the large-sized electric furnaces are going to grow and with the development in steelmaking technology especially wide application of DC (direct current) arc steelmaking, the demand for large-sized UHP grade electrodes is set to increase in China. In the case of steelmaking in EAFs of 75 tonnes and above, UHP grade electrodes of size 550-700mm are required.
Before the supply-side structural changes in China in the latter half of 2017 that led to the closure of small polluting GE units and promotion of electric furnaces for steel manufacturing, there were not many manufacturers in China that produced UHP grade 600mm and above sized electrodes. However, with the large-scale transformation in China’s electric furnace steelmaking facilities, increase in market demand, and improvement in China’s GE technology and quality, few Chinese manufacturers have started production of large-sized UHP grade electrodes of size 700mm. This list of companies producing 700mm electrodes in 2018 includes Fangda Carbon, Kaifeng Carbon, Jilin Carbon, Nantong Yangtze, Sichuan Zhaogang, and Henan Kefeng. However, in 2019 the manufacturers that were added in the above list includes Dandong Xingxing, Shnxi Hongte, Sim Donghai, Jie Xizhi, and Guanhan Shida.
In just over a year, the number of manufacturers producing UHP700mm graphite electrodes in China has increased by 83%. However, these companies have not ventured into large-sized GE production in the time span of just one year but have put in years of technical research and experience. It has been reported that in 2019, several of these new companies have supplied their products to downstream steel mills and the user feedback is good.
The GE prices in China especially that of small-sized electrodes have been falling since the start of 2019, however, the price of large-sized UHP grade electrodes (600-700mm) have remained stable in the range of RMB 55,000 – 80,000/MT in last four months. With the production of good quality large size GE, the Chinese companies are also venturing in the overseas market, thus giving competition to their global peers. However, as per the market sources, although competition has just started in 700mm and above size GE domain in the global market, the Chinese electrodes still do not match the quality of large-sized electrodes produced especially by the Japanese manufacturers.
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