Market overview

CNT are tubes of rolled graphene a few nanometres wide. They conduct electricity and heat well and add strength at very low loadings. Most volume is multi-walled CNT (MWCNT) used as a conductive additive in lithium-ion battery electrodes, with smaller volumes in conductive plastics, composites and electronics. Supply depends on catalytic chemical vapour deposition (CVD) capacity, mostly in China and South Korea, and on how fast battery makers qualify CNT in place of carbon black.

The question this report answers
How large is the CNT market in 2025, and will battery-driven capacity growth keep prices and margins stable through 2035?

Market Krystal preliminary estimate (2025)
Four publishers cluster at USD 5.7-6.0 bn (Research Nester, Mordor, Straits, Business Research Company). Two more sit at USD 7.6-7.8 bn. Five outliers span USD 1.6-12.5 bn. Market Krystal's range centres on the dense cluster of publisher estimates for CNT powder, dispersions and masterbatch at first sale, and trims the top end because several publishers appear to count finished paste or wider nanocarbons. The check against paste price and shipment data from a market research publisher is indicative, so the grade is B. On this basis we use USD 4.5-6.5 bn. Confidence grade B: published estimates exist; the volume or price cross-check is partial.

Market dynamics
– Demand: Battery packs now use roughly 0.5-2.0 wt% CNT to keep conductive paths in silicon-graphite anodes (Mordor Intelligence); polymers were still the largest application by volume in 2024 (Grand View Research).
– Supply: Producers include LG Chem, Cabot, Resonac, Nanocyl (Birla Carbon), Jiangsu Cnano, Arkema and OCSiAl (MarketsandMarkets); Cnano runs a 12,000 tons/year complex and LG Chem's South Korean network 6,100 tons/year (Mordor Intelligence). OCSiAl leads single-wall CNT.
– Price and margin: 2025 CNT paste shipments were about 640,200 tons at an average of about USD 4,497 per ton (Market Research Reports). Single-wall paste averaged about USD 22,857 per ton and multi-wall paste about USD 2,571 per ton, with gross margins of 40-50% (Market Research Reports).
– Regulation and substitution: IARC lists MWCNT-7 as Group 2B and all other MWCNTs as Group 3 (IARC). CNT can cut conductive additive use by about 30% and lift conductivity over 10% against carbon black (LG Chem), so carbon black is the main substitute.

Key figures at a glance (third-party, cited)
– Global CNT market reached USD 7.6 bn in 2025 and is forecast at USD 26.1 bn by 2034, a CAGR of 14.24% (IMARC)
– Multi-walled CNT held 90.03% of the 2025 market and Asia-Pacific held 54.45% (Mordor Intelligence)
– Global CNT paste shipments were about 640,200 tons in 2025 (Market Research Reports)
– LG Chem's CNT 4 plant, at 3,100 tons a year, takes its total capacity to 6,100 tons a year (Korea IT Times (LG Chem))
– OCSiAl cites total SWCNT capacity of 1,000 tonnes a year across existing, planned and under-construction facilities (OCSiAl)
– The top five players held a combined 46.3% share in 2024, with LG Chem the leader at 18.6% (Global Market Insights)

Recent developments among key stakeholders
– Oct 2026: Birla Carbon showed Nanocyl CNT, Conductex i carbon blacks and CNT-carbon black blends at The Battery Show North America in Detroit, aimed at lithium-ion, LMFP, sodium-ion, solid-state and metal-air electrodes (Birla Carbon)
– Jul 2026: OCSiAl plans to quadruple Serbian capacity to about 240 tonnes a year by 2027 (SeeNews (OCSiAl CEO interview))
– Apr 2026: OCSiAl launched new TUBALL SWCNT dispersions for silicon anodes and solid-state cells. A second synthesis unit in 2026 doubles output, and two more units within a year take capacity to four times today's level (OCSiAl (via Charged EVs))
– Jul 2025: Imerys Graphite & Carbon and Cnano announced a partnership to offer commercial-scale products combining carbon material and CNT capability (Mordor Intelligence)
– Oct 2023: Birla Carbon completed its acquisition of Nanocyl, a multi-wall CNT maker in Sambreville, Belgium (Tyrepress)
– May 2023: LG Chem began building its fourth CNT plant at Daesan, slated for 2025, to double capacity to 6,100 tons a year (Chemical Engineering (LG Chem))

What this means for the market
Battery makers and paste formulators hold the buying power while Chinese and Korean capacity keeps growing. Western and Indian carbon black groups such as Birla Carbon and Cabot are buying or building CNT and dispersion capacity to stay in conductive additives. Single-wall suppliers such as OCSiAl sit in a higher-priced niche tied to silicon anodes and solid-state cells. Buyers should treat paste price, not powder price, as the benchmark and lock multi-year contracts where qualification is slow.

How published estimates compare
Published estimates for 2025 run from USD 1.55 bn to USD 12.5 bn because publishers define the product differently. Some count powder only, others count dispersions, paste, masterbatch or wider nanocarbons. Market Krystal sizes powder, dispersion and masterbatch at first sale and tests the result against paste price and shipment data, so its range is narrower than the published spread.

Strategic scenarios to 2047
– Base: Battery demand keeps growing and multi-wall CNT stays the default conductive additive in lithium-ion cells. Capacity from China, Korea and Europe is absorbed with gradual price erosion, and consolidation continues among carbon black groups to 2047.
– Constrained supply: Plant delays, catalyst or feedstock disruption, or export controls on Chinese capacity tighten supply. Battery makers pay premiums, qualify second sources in Korea and Europe, and the single-wall segment is hit hardest.
– Technology transition: Silicon-rich anodes, solid-state and sodium-ion cells shift demand from multi-wall toward single-wall CNT and blends. Pure carbon black loses share, and dry-electrode processes change dispersion needs.
The swing factor for CNT is Battery electrode qualification rate versus capacity build-out. Signposts: LG Chem and Cnano utilisation rates, OCSiAl synthesis unit start-ups, paste price per ton, silicon anode adoption, EU and IARC classification changes, carbon black substitution loadings.

What this report delivers
Annual volume (tonnes) and value (USD) for 2026-2035, segmented by application: Lithium-ion battery conductive additive (cathode and anode), Conductive plastics and masterbatch, Structural composites, Electronics and semiconductors, Coatings, adhesives and rubber, Medical and other; end use: Electric vehicle batteries, Consumer electronics batteries, Energy storage systems, Automotive components, Aerospace and defence, Industrial polymers; region: China, South Korea and Japan, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Each segment is backed by a producer capacity map, trade data and the Market Krystal estimate log, with scenarios to 2047 and strategic recommendations.