4 departments jointly release lithium battery industry standard guide
On November 15, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Standards Administration issued the "Guidelines for the Construction of the National Lithium Battery Industry Standard System (2024 Edition)".
The document points out that the lithium battery industry is the backbone of the development of new smart terminals, electric vehicles, new energy storage and other industries, and is also a key area for promoting new energy storage and developing future industries. Energy storage lithium batteries are lithium batteries used in power storage, communication storage, emergency storage and other fields. The safety and performance standards mainly include safety standards and performance standards for consumer, small power, large power and energy storage lithium batteries.
It is proposed that by 2026, more than 100 new national standards and industry standards will be formulated, the standard system leading the high-quality development of the lithium battery industry will be more sound, and the role of standards in consolidating the industry's dominant position will continue to increase.
Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology and BYD sign contract to develop EV technology
On November 17, the "Chinese Academy of Sciences·Guangdong Province Science and Technology Achievements" matchmaking meeting co-organized by the Development Planning Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Science and Technology Department of Guangdong Province, and the Guangzhou Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was held at the Greater Bay Area Science Forum. At the signing ceremony, the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology and BYD Auto Industry Co., Ltd. signed a cooperation agreement on the forward-looking technology project for EVs. The two parties will focus on cutting-edge fields such as solid-state batteries and lithium battery auxiliary materials, and jointly promote the development of intelligent and electrified vehicles through joint technical research, resource integration and collaborative innovation .
Great Power invests 5 billion to build energy storage manufacturing base in Guangde
On the evening of November 19, Guangzhou Great Power Technology Co., Ltd., a lithium battery company, announced that the company plans to invest in the construction of a 10GWh energy storage cell and energy storage system manufacturing plant and an independent shared energy storage R&D base project (hereinafter referred to as the "Project") in Guangde City, Anhui Province, with a total planned investment of 5 billion yuan. It is reported that the company will register a wholly-owned subsidiary or holding company in Guangde City, Anhui Province as the implementing entity. The project will be built in two phases. The first phase is scheduled to be completed and put into production in September 2025, and the second phase will be implemented according to the investment plan. The final result will be subject to the actual construction situation.
Great Power said that the investment is to further optimize the capacity layout and meet the needs of future business development and market expansion. The funds required for investment and expansion are self-owned or self-raised funds, which are expected to be raised through a combination of equity and debt.
Lithium Battery Materials
Lithium carbonate:
The transaction price of lithium carbonate fluctuated upward this week. There are two main news about the recent price increase: 1. Lithium salt plants intend to increase the long-term contract price of lithium carbonate. Now the price fluctuates greatly, and lithium salt plants want to reduce the proportion of long-term contracts and increase the proportion of single orders and warehouse receipts. 2. CATL has to buy in the futures market to meet the peak season demand, which has led to price increases. The short-term demand for lithium carbonate continues to be strong, and the spot resources are relatively tight, so lithium salt plants have strong demands for price increases.
In terms of supply, the supply volume remained stable in November. In addition, according to customs data, China imported 23,196 tons of lithium carbonate in October, an increase of 43% from the previous month and 116% from the previous year. Among them, Chile imported 17,861 tons of lithium carbonate and Argentina imported 4,791 tons.
In terms of demand, the production schedule of LFP continued to rise in November, and the operating rate of LFP manufacturers remained high. Some LFP manufacturers reduced their supply to customers and increased their purchases of bulk goods. The demand outlook was relatively optimistic. In general, lithium carbonate futures fluctuated around 80,000, and there was insufficient momentum for continued growth.
The latest price of lithium carbonate on November 22:
Battery grade 99.5%: 79,400-81,300 yuan/ton
Industrial grade 99.2%: 74,900-76,400 yuan/ton
NCM materials:
The NCM material market was divided this week due to the influence of lithium carbonate prices. In terms of demand, the domestic power end has limited new orders, and the digital consumer end is in a good mood due to the current high price of lithium carbonate; in the overseas market, the stocking sentiment is coming to an end, and the battery demand is generally flat. In terms of price, the price of nickel and cobalt salts fluctuated weakly due to weak demand, but the price of lithium salts rebounded, driving the overall NCM price center of gravity up.
The latest price of NCM materials on November 22:
NCM material 523 single crystal type: 111,000-120,000 yuan/ton
NCM material 811 type: 140,000-149,000 yuan/ton
LFP:
The market demand for LFP materials remains strong this week. Compared with October, the market performance in November is more positive. Downstream battery cell factories are in urgent need of LFP, especially leading companies such as BYD have begun to urge for delivery. Due to the tight demand, the supply of iron phosphate raw materials is also tight, and some companies have taken measures such as urging delivery and settlement to ensure supply
In terms of price, the price of LFP has increased slightly, mainly affected by the price fluctuation of lithium carbonate. At present, some companies have raised their prices to more than 10,000 yuan per ton. In contrast, some phosphorus chemical and titanium dioxide transformation companies still maintain stable pricing and are less urgent to increase prices.
From the perspective of overall market expectations, the market demand in December is still strong and is not expected to be inferior to that in November. The output of LFP this year is expected to exceed 2.3 million tons, which is higher than expected, and the market outlook remains optimistic.
The latest price of LFP on November 22:
LFP EV type: 33,500-34,900 yuan/ton
Anode material:
The Anode material market continued to recover this week, and demand is expected to continue to grow next month, with outstanding demand on the power side. In particular, the order growth of major customers such as BYD is good, forming a certain market pull effect. Although it has entered the traditional off-season, the overall performance of the industry is still good, and it is expected that there may be a "not off-season" situation before the end of the year. In terms of price, the price of upstream raw materials has rebounded, and the profit margin of Anode companies has been compressed, showing a strong willingness to support prices. In addition, BYD's bidding for Anode materials is about to start, and you can pay attention to the specific quantity and price at that time.
The overall graphitization market did not change much this week, and the supply and demand situation remained sufficient. Although the downstream demand for Anode materials has rebounded, the overall supply of the graphitization industry is in oversupply, and the possibility of price increases in the short term is small. The current price is already at a low level and is expected to remain stable in the short term, with a lack of room for further decline. In terms of natural graphite, the Ministry of Commerce recently issued management regulations on graphite, canceled the temporary control documents implemented at the end of 2023, and merged most of the relevant materials into the new item control list, indicating that natural graphite is still subject to export controls and companies need to apply for export licenses through provincial commerce departments. Despite this, foreign trade in natural graphite has returned to normal, and export companies have generally obtained relevant export licenses. At the same time, the tax rebate rate for spherical graphite has declined, resulting in increased cost pressure on companies and higher cost control requirements.
Anode material prices on November 22:
High-end natural graphite anode : 50,000-65,000 yuan/ton
High-end artificial graphite EV anode: 32,000-65,000 yuan/ton
Mid-range artificial graphite anode: 23,000-38,000 yuan/ton
Separator:
This week, the production and orders of the separator market remained generally stable. Although downstream demand still has some support, especially driven by the leading battery manufacturers, it is expected that the production schedule in December will remain at a high level. However, the production schedule of enterprises has declined slightly, mainly due to the previous inventory backlog, and battery factories have begun to reduce the order volume. In addition, December is also a traditional business negotiation period, and downstream manufacturers may cooperate with the bargaining adjustment at the end of the year, thereby further reducing the current order volume.
In terms of price, the contradiction between supply and demand in the Separator market is still prominent, and the premium phenomenon of upstream and downstream is still continuing. From the current situation, although new products are expected to be launched in 2025, the bargaining power of upstream companies is relatively weak. The overall profit level of Separator companies is still limited, so there is little room for price reduction, and prices are expected to remain stable in the short term.
In terms of industry dynamics, overseas separator company Sepion Technologies recently announced that it had received a large-scale order with a supply volume of up to 1.2 billion square meters. This has provided more cooperation opportunities for domestic companies and further increased market attention.
Latest price of separator on November 22:
Base film 9μm/wet method: 0.7-0.925 yuan/square meter
Base film 16μm/dry method: 0.35-0.45 yuan/square meter
Base film 9+3μm ceramic coated Separator: 0.85-1.1 yuan/square meter
Electrolyte
The electrolyte market demand was stable this week, and there was no significant change in the overall market operating rate and shipments. The output of the leading electrolyte factories increased slightly, and the shipments of the second-tier factories were basically stable. The overall market structure has basically stabilized. In terms of price, the electrolyte price was slightly increased this week due to rising costs, but the processing fee did not change significantly.
In terms of raw materials, the market demand for LiPF6 is stable, and the operating rate of the leading manufacturers exceeds 80%. The second-tier manufacturers are basically in full production due to their small production capacity. The third-tier and fourth-tier manufacturers have extremely low operating rates or are in a state of suspension because their profits cannot cover their costs. Since the fluorine price rose on Saturday last week, the fluorine price has been stable this Saturday with no significant changes. The solvent market has sufficient production capacity, stable market supply, and no significant changes in prices. The market demand for additives is stable, the market operating rate is also relatively stable, and the price is stable.
In the short term, the market performed relatively well in November and may decline slightly in December.
Electrolyte price on November 22:
Domestic LiPF6: 56,000-58,500 yuan/ton
EV NCM electrolyte: 18,000-21,500 yuan/ton
EV LFP: 17,200-22,900 yuan/ton
Energy storage LFP: 15,400-20,800 yuan/ton
Battery Recycling:
This week, the price of lithium carbonate increased slightly, the price of cobalt sulfate remained stable, and the price of nickel sulfate decreased slightly. As reflected in the price of waste materials, the price of lithium point increased slightly, and the price of NCM waste did not change much due to the hedging of the nickel price reduction and the lithium price increase. In terms of waste transactions, wet process plants are still dominated by factory waste, and the social end waste inventory remains high. The downstream production of a small number of wet process plants is in good condition, and the receipt volume has increased. On the news front, this week, the construction of the first phase of the recycling production line of Hunan Yuneng, a leading iron-lithium company, with an output of 20,000 tons of lithium carbonate and 80,000 tons of iron phosphate, was completed and is in the acceptance and commissioning stage; Bobang Shanhe announced the completion of the mass production of the continuous high-temperature regeneration process of waste graphite. This will be another company that has entered the recycling of waste graphite after Ruikemei, Xinmao and other companies, which is of great significance for the recovery of all components of waste lithium batteries.
The latest price of lithium battery scrap on November 22:
Scrap iron lithium pole powder: 2900 yuan/lithium point
Waste NCM 523 electrode powder: 48,000-52,000 yuan/ton
Waste lithium cobalt oxide cathode sheet: 67,500-71,500 yuan/ton
Downstream demand and lithium batteries:
Battery
The lithium battery market has grown steadily this week, and the power and energy storage orders of mainstream companies have performed well. Production is expected to maintain the established plan.
In terms of demand structure, in the three major application areas of power batteries, energy storage and digital consumption, the drive of old-for-new for power demand continues, the demand for energy storage delivery remains strong, and the digital consumption end has increased stocking sentiment due to the rise in lithium salt prices. In terms of price, the recent reduction in the import and export tax rebate rate for lithium battery products may stimulate the price increase of domestic battery products. Coupled with the rising market prices of raw materials, the price increase expectations and implementation still need further attention.
The latest price of lithium batteries on November 22:
Prismatic NCM EV cell: 0.41-0.48 yuan/Wh
Prismatic LFP EV cell: 0.29-0.41 yuan/Wh
Prismatic NCM (high nickel): 670-790 yuan/KWh
EVs:
This week, the EV market continued to grow. According to last week's data, domestic passenger car sales were 571,000 units, up 29.19% year-on-year and 13.94% month-on-month. Among them, EV sales were 294,000 units, up 59.78% year-on-year and 8.52% month-on-month. The weekly penetration rate has reached 51.49%, showing that market demand is still strong.
In terms of policy, the Ministry of Finance has already issued the subsidy quota for EVs in 2025 in advance, with a total amount of nearly 10 billion yuan, providing strong support for the market next year. In addition, the Ministry of Commerce also stated that it will plan the car trade-in policy for next year in advance, which is expected to further stimulate domestic demand and promote sustained market growth.
CONTACT US
ICC APP
