SMM

Lithium Ore:

At the beginning of this week, lithium ore prices were basically flat WoW. For spodumene, although last Friday's Australian ore auction prices were lower than previous quotations, the overall market prices did not show significant changes. Coupled with higher transaction prices over the weekend, lithium ore prices remained elevated in the short term. Under these circumstances, domestic lithium ore suppliers maintained high quotations, and the overall lithium ore price trend showed a clear decoupling from lithium carbonate prices. For lepidolite, there have been no large-scale auctions recently, and the market remains undersupplied, with prices staying high and showing no significant changes WoW.

Lithium Carbonate:

At the beginning of this week, spot lithium carbonate prices showed a downward trend. From the current market transaction perspective, downstream material plants remain cautious and primarily engage in just-in-time procurement due to the lack of clear guidance on subsequent production schedules. Upstream lithium chemical plants have continued to increase production post-holiday, coupled with expectations of increased overseas imports. Domestic lithium carbonate supply in February is expected to rise significantly, further exacerbating the oversupply situation, making prices more likely to fall than rise.

Lithium Hydroxide:

At the beginning of this week, lithium hydroxide prices were basically flat WoW. Downstream ternary cathode material plants, having sufficient stockpiles from earlier, showed limited procurement demand recently, with only some inquiries. Upstream suppliers, facing weaker-than-expected downstream demand and continued pessimistic market expectations, showed some relaxation in their sentiment to stand firm on quotes, allowing for some negotiation in transactions. Market prices are expected to trend downward in the short term.
In the near term, lithium hydroxide prices are expected to fluctuate downward.

Refined Cobalt:

This week, refined cobalt prices remained stable. On the supply side, the spot market inventory is currently abundant, with sufficient circulating supply. On the demand side, there is just-in-time inquiry from downstream, but transaction volumes remain limited. Overall, due to the oversupply in the market, both refined cobalt producers and traders hold a certain level of inventory, leading to weak spot prices. Looking ahead, as the market's oversupply situation persists, spot prices are likely to decline further.

Intermediate Products:

This week, cobalt intermediate product prices dropped slightly. On the supply side, spot availability remains sufficient. On the demand side, downstream just-in-time procurement continues, with limited market inquiries and transactions. Overall, the market remains in an oversupply situation, putting downward pressure on spot prices. Looking ahead, as spot transaction prices approach long-term contract prices, the downside room for cobalt intermediate product prices is expected to be limited.

Cobalt Salts (Cobalt Sulphate and Cobalt Chloride):

This week, cobalt salt prices declined slightly. On the supply side, cobalt salt smelters' operating rates remain low. On the demand side, the market only meets basic procurement needs, with overall weak performance and limited transaction volumes. Due to the lack of active market trading sentiment, prices have declined again. Looking ahead to next week, with no substantial improvement expected in market supply and demand, spot prices are likely to face a slight downward risk.

Cobalt Salts (Co3O4):

This week, Co3O4 prices declined slightly. On the supply side, smelters mainly focused on fulfilling previous orders, and the market has not fully recovered. On the demand side, post-holiday, the market generally adopted a wait-and-see attitude, with weak spot demand. Overall, as downstream enterprises completed restocking before the holiday, the market was relatively quiet this week, leading to price declines. Looking ahead to next week, downstream LCO enterprises may have some procurement demand, with an increase in inquiries expected. Market sentiment is likely to improve, and Co3O4 prices are expected to stabilize temporarily without further declines.

Nickel Sulphate:

As of the beginning of this week, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 26,588 yuan/mt, with a quotation range of 26,400-27,060 yuan/mt, and the average price was flat WoW. On the demand side, ternary cathode precursor enterprises reduced their demand for nickel salts due to weakened end-use demand and declining orders. Additionally, most precursor manufacturers had stocked up for February before the holiday, resulting in fewer inquiries this week. Market activity declined compared to last week, remaining at low levels. On the supply side, some nickel salt smelters, facing losses, have not resumed production. Most nickel salt smelters maintained their quotations at last week's levels. As downstream ternary cathode precursor plants show no improvement in March production schedules, nickel salt demand is expected to remain low in March. Currently, the supply-demand relationship for nickel salts is expected to remain tightly balanced in March. Therefore, during next week's traditional nickel salt procurement period, transaction prices are expected to remain stable.

Ternary Cathode Precursors:

At the beginning of this week, prices for 5-series, 6-series, and 8-series ternary cathode precursors remained stable WoW. In terms of raw material costs, prices for nickel sulphate, cobalt sulphate, and manganese sulphate were flat WoW, leading to stable prices across all series of ternary cathode precursors. On the demand side, overall demand for ternary materials this month was weak, as both power and consumer terminals entered the off-season, reducing precursor demand. On the supply side, precursor producers faced cost pressures and generally showed sentiment to stand firm on quotes. The enthusiasm for signing long-term contracts this year was lower than last year. Due to fewer calendar days and reduced downstream orders, industry operating rates declined. Looking ahead to next week, nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate prices are expected to remain stable, while manganese sulphate prices may rise slightly. Based on the expected increase in metal salt prices and the sentiment to stand firm on quotes among precursor producers, ternary cathode precursor prices are expected to rise to varying degrees.

Ternary Cathode Materials:

At the beginning of this week, prices for 5-series and 6-series ternary cathode materials declined, mainly due to the drop in lithium carbonate prices, which significantly reduced costs and prices. Prices and costs for 8-series materials remained stable.
On the production and supply side, the recovery of orders for ternary cathode materials in March varied. Orders for 6-series materials were relatively optimistic, while 5-series and 8-series materials may struggle to return to January levels. Many enterprises remain in a wait-and-see mode, awaiting downstream order conditions at the end of February to determine future production plans. Overall, industry concentration has further increased, with small and medium-sized enterprises experiencing significant order reductions. Market competition has intensified, with resources and orders concentrating among top-tier enterprises.

LFP:

This week, LFP market prices remained relatively stable. Lithium carbonate prices fell slightly by about 30 yuan/mt this week, while processing fees showed no significant changes. Regarding lithium carbonate discounts, downstream battery cell manufacturers generally sought to lower discounts, but the results varied depending on negotiation conditions. On the supply side, LFP material plants maintained relatively stable operations this week, though some medium-sized and small LFP plants reduced or halted production. Top-tier material plants maintained stable production. On the demand side, some downstream battery cell manufacturers slightly reduced their February procurement volumes, leading to minor adjustments in the supply chain structure. Overall inventory levels in February remained in a state of inventory buildup.

Iron Phosphate:

This week, the iron phosphate market was relatively mediocre, with a slightly weak supply-demand relationship, and prices remained stable. Although raw material costs provided some support to prices, preventing significant declines, the weakened downstream demand left little room or momentum for further price increases. Some unsold inventory remains in the market, requiring time to gradually reduce and balance supply and demand. During this period, market participants generally adopted a cautious attitude, with relatively conservative trading activities.
Looking ahead to March, the market is expected to recover to some extent. With the gradual digestion of inventory and the recovery of downstream demand, the production schedules of iron phosphate enterprises are also likely to increase accordingly. Co3O4: This week, LCO prices continued their slight downward trend, with the latest prices for 4.2V, 4.4V, and 4.5V LCO at 134,000 yuan/mt, 138,000 yuan/mt, and 149,000 yuan/mt, respectively. On the raw material side, Co3O4 prices dropped significantly, while battery-grade lithium carbonate prices showed little change, leading to a decrease in LCO costs. In terms of supply, LCO production in February declined MoM due to the off-season and fewer calendar days. On the demand side, although subsidies for digital products boosted sales in the digital 3C market, driving a recovery in LCO demand, the overall market remained in a slow recovery phase. It is expected that with further implementation of supportive policies, LCO demand may continue to rebound, and prices are likely to stabilize. Anode: This week, prices for most anode materials showed varying degrees of increase. Cost side, in addition to being affected by tax policies, recent shutdowns for maintenance at multiple petroleum coke plants, coupled with significantly increased demand for low-sulphur petroleum coke from anodes, directly pushed up low-sulphur petroleum coke prices. Similarly, needle coke, also impacted by tax policies, remained in a low-price range, leading to further price increases this week. The integrated development of anodes continues, and the oversupply in the outsourced graphitisation market remains difficult to reverse. However, as graphitisation prices are close to cost levels, prices remained stable this week. On the demand side, while signs of market recovery were evident, the pace was relatively slow, and demand improvement was not significant. In summary, under the backdrop of high theoretical costs, anode material producers showed a strong sentiment to stand firm on quotes. However, constrained by price suppression from battery cell manufacturers, the price increase for anode materials was limited this week. It is expected that the price increase for anode materials may expand in the future. Separator: This week, lithium battery separator material prices remained stable. After a prolonged price war and price suppression from battery cell enterprises, separator material prices are currently at low levels, extremely close to cost lines. This has led separator enterprises, especially dry-process separator producers, to exhibit a strong sentiment to stand firm on quotes. In terms of supply and demand, the market currently shows slight signs of recovery, but the pace remains slow, and downstream demand is still weak. Separator enterprises' operating rates have not shown significant improvement. Under weak supply and demand conditions, downstream battery cell manufacturers have mostly ceased price suppression to maintain procurement volumes, resulting in stable separator prices this week. Looking ahead, the separator industry still has new capacity yet to reach full production, and the separator market may remain in an oversupply state. To compete for market share, separator enterprises may continue to engage in intense price competition. Electrolyte: This week, electrolyte prices remained stable. On the supply side, after the Chinese New Year holiday, market demand remained weak. LiPF6 production was order-based, and electrolyte producers picked up goods based on orders, keeping prices stable. On the demand side, battery cell manufacturers' demand for electrolytes remained low, with order-based procurement. On the cost side, prices for LiPF6, additives, and solvents remained temporarily stable. Currently, overall electrolyte prices are mainly influenced by LiPF6 prices. However, due to price suppression from battery cells, electrolyte prices remained stable. The prices for ternary power battery electrolyte ranged from 21,100 to 29,550 yuan/mt, while LFP battery electrolyte prices ranged from 16,800 to 25,550 yuan/mt. In the short term, fluctuations on the cost side are expected to cause electrolyte prices to oscillate within a certain range. Sodium-ion Battery: This week, the sodium-ion battery market remained in the off-season, with production and sales still in the preparation stage. New capacity is expected to be launched intensively in Q2, with corresponding demand growth. In the short term, the sodium-ion battery market still faces certain pressure, and enterprises need to closely monitor market dynamics and flexibly adjust production plans and sales strategies to cope with market uncertainties. The sodium-ion battery industry is still in a critical stage of capacity digestion and technological iteration, with cost reduction and performance breakthroughs likely to become key focuses in H2. Recycling: This week, prices in the recycled scrap market saw a slight increase. Supply side: Most hydrometallurgical plants have basically resumed normal production. Although prices for lithium carbonate, nickel salts, and cobalt salts showed some decline after the Lantern Festival, most powder producers and traders still preferred to maintain strong prices. While some hydrometallurgical plants made small purchases of high-priced black mass to maintain low production rates, many producers had already completed raw material procurement for February in January. As a result, despite increased market activity compared to last week, the room for price increases was limited. Most enterprises, due to pessimistic expectations for future salt prices and existing inventory, saw limited transaction price increases. Compared to February prices, most enterprises are more focused on the recovery of demand and salt price trends in March, mainly because some recycling enterprises are expected to start production and stockpile during this period, while the inventory of enterprises that stockpiled earlier has been largely depleted. Downstream and Terminal: This week, DC-side battery cabin prices remained relatively stable. The average price for a 5MWh DC-side battery cabin was 0.43 yuan/Wh, while the average prices for 3.44/3.77MWh DC-side battery cabins were 0.438 yuan/Wh. Prices for 280Ah and 314Ah energy storage battery cells showed little fluctuation, and overall DC-side battery cabin prices remained stable. On February 18, Sheneng Hehe Power (Heyuan) Co., Ltd. announced the candidates for the procurement of battery cabins and auxiliary equipment for its electrochemical energy storage joint frequency regulation project. The project plans to build a 20MW/20.872MWh electrochemical energy storage system at the Phase I plant area of Heyuan Power Plant to achieve AGC frequency regulation auxiliary services for thermal power units. The first candidate's bid was 12.21 million yuan, with a unit price of 0.585 yuan/Wh. The second candidate's bid was 12.63 million yuan, with a unit price of 0.605 yuan/Wh. 》Subscribe to view historical spot prices of SMM new energy products 》Click to view the SMM New Energy Industry Chain Database News: 【Cui Dongshu of CPCA: Passenger Car Retail Forecast for 2025 Raised to 23.43 Million Units】Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the CPCA, stated on February 24 that based on the strong performance of passenger car industry data released in January 2025, considering the favorable policy orientation of national policies to promote consumption in 2025 and future environmental changes, the CPCA forecast team slightly adjusted the annual industry forecast in mid-February. Passenger car retail forecast for 2025: 23.43 million units, up 2%, with the total forecast increased by 70,000 units compared to January's forecast. Passenger car export forecast for 2025: 5.27 million units, up 10%, with the total forecast reduced by 30,000 units compared to January's forecast. NEV passenger car wholesale forecast for 2025: 15.65 million units, up 28%, with the total forecast reduced by 30,000 units compared to January's forecast. National automobile wholesale forecast for 2025: 32.66 million units, up 4%, with the total forecast reduced by 10,000 units compared to January's forecast. 【Xiaomi YU7 Dual-Motor AWD Model Completed Filing】According to the "Beijing Yizhuang" official account, the latest batch of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's "Announcement on Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products" (Batch 392) shows that the new version of Xiaomi YU7 has completed filing. The new model is a dual-motor AWD version, equipped with an LFP battery, with peak motor power of 130kW/235kW and a top speed of 240km/h. The production site for the new Xiaomi YU7 is located in Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, with dimensions of 4,999×1,996×1,600mm and a wheelbase of 3,000mm. It is revealed that the Xiaomi YU7 is expected to be officially launched in June or July this year. 【National Energy Administration and SAMR: Deepening the Construction of Highway Charging Infrastructure and Promoting the Application of High-Power Charging Technology Standards】According to the "Guangdong People's Congress" official account, in response to suggestions from national representatives in Guangdong regarding NEV charging infrastructure construction, relevant departments provided feedback. The National Energy Administration stated that it will work with relevant departments to coordinate the implementation of the "Guiding Opinions," guide local governments to prioritize the use of existing parking lots and other land resources, accelerate the planning and construction of charging infrastructure layouts, and deepen the construction of highway charging infrastructure. It will also accelerate the construction of a convenient and efficient intercity charging network to better serve public travel. Meanwhile, SAMR will work with relevant departments to accelerate the development of 20 national standards, including the "Design Specifications for EV Charging Stations" and the "Trusted Protection Specifications for EV Charging Infrastructure," improve standards for charging equipment construction, installation, and operation, and promote the application of high-power charging technology standards to facilitate industry-standard development. Additionally, the National Energy Administration and other relevant departments are actively promoting the internationalization of charging and battery swapping technology standards and participating in international standard cooperation. Moving forward, the administration will continue to promote the internationalization of charging infrastructure standards, allowing Chinese solutions and standards to go global. SMM New Energy Research Team Wang Cong 021-51666838 Ma Rui 021-51595780 Lin Ziya 86-2151666902 Yuan Ye 021-51595792 Feng Disheng 021-51666714 Xu Ying 021-51666707 Lü Yanlin 021-20707875 Liu Yujun 021-20707895 Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711