en.Wedoany.com Reported - Russia's El 6 Group (Группа Эл 6) plans to start production of new aluminum electrolytic cell cathode blocks at its Novosibirsk plant in 2027. Group General Director Sergey Ushakov (Сергей Ушаков) stated in an external announcement that 1.2 billion rubles have been allocated for this project and other initiatives (including equipment procurement) in 2026.

The carbon composite material production plan will involve introducing carbon fiber suppliers from Belarus. Meanwhile, supplies of regular low-sulfur coke from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have increased.

Ushakov noted that the group has placed orders with all three suppliers and is conducting tests at its plants in Chelyabinsk and Novocherkassk. He revealed that mid-term test results are positive, and that CIS countries have raw material producers no less capable than Western suppliers, helping the group maintain a safe level of import dependence and ensure a stable supply of high-quality products to Russian metallurgical enterprises.

Between 2020 and 2025, El 6 Group invested over 7.5 billion rubles in production capacity. During this period, the group launched the only production line within the Eurasian Economic Union for manufacturing large-diameter (750 mm) graphite electrodes for a new generation of steelmaking furnaces.

At the end of April this year, the group announced that a trial batch of its El 6 Novocherkassk UHP-grade 750 mm diameter graphite electrodes had successfully completed testing at a major metallurgical enterprise in the Eurasian Economic Union.

Sergey Ushakov explained that this was the first test of the group's 750 mm electrode series, requiring an objective assessment of whether the product meets international standards. Since Russian metallurgical enterprises had not yet commissioned the latest generation of electric furnaces at the beginning of this year, the group sought cooperation from counterparts in Central Asia. Test results showed that the electrode's indicators are comparable to European products that have set industry standards for years, with even better results achieved in terms of contact density. In June this year, operational performance evaluation of this 750 mm diameter electrode will begin on a new-generation electric furnace in Russia.

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