Fujian province puts focus on graphite and graphene

Fujian is one of many Chinese provinces with or without graphite resources that are setting up graphene operations.

Sanming, the neighbouring city of Yong’an and Datian County have combined proven graphite reserves of 1.4m tonnes and prospective reserves of 100m tonnes. Most of this is high-grade amorphous graphite.

The municipal government of Sanming is planning to build a graphite and graphene industrial development zone in Sanming, a graphite and graphene industrial park in Yong’an and a graphite and graphene industrial park in Datian. A graphene engineering research centre established by the Yong’an government and producer Xiangfenghua has begun operations.

Yong’an has established a graphene investment fund of Chinese renminbi (RMB) 500m ($73m*). This year and for each of the next five years the government will allocate RMB5m from a local fund and another RMB5m from a provincial fund to support the graphite and graphene industry.

At present there are six graphite and graphene companies in Sanming. Xiangfenghua has a finished anode material production line, with a second production line under development that will bring total capacity to 30,000 tpa. Dingfeng Carbon Company has an isostatic pressing graphite operation with a capacity of 20,000 tpa.

Fujian’s local amorphous graphite business is relatively small compared with Chenzhou in Hunan province, the biggest amorphous graphite source in the world, which accounts for more than 70% of China’s amorphous graphite resources. This is the reason Fujian is taking the opportunity to develop a value-added graphene industry.