SMM June 12 news: During June 5-11, 2026, the weekly operating rate of secondary lead in four provinces tracked by SMM stood at 29.7%, up 1.31 percentage points WoW. Some smelters in Anhui cut production due to losses and tight raw material supply, while large smelters resumed production and ramped up, offsetting the reduction and lifting the regional operating rate by 2.39 percentage points. The sharp drop in lead prices drove down scrap battery prices and boosted circulation; after restocking raw materials, Henan smelters raised production, while enterprises in Jiangsu cut production due to losses. Next week, small smelters in Inner Mongolia plan to resume production, and the regional operating rate is expected to increase by 3.41 percentage points. Other enterprises will adjust production based on changes in raw materials and lead prices.

[Bullish Sentiment Prevailed in the Market This Week, with Solid Support for the Silicon Metal Bottom]: On the supply side, operating rates at northern silicon enterprises were basically stable, while those in Sichuan and Yunnan slowly improved. However, the pace of overall supply release was limited, with insufficient incremental elasticity. Combined with demand side keeping pace, supply and demand in the industry were broadly balanced recently. Recently, bullish sentiment dominated the market, providing strong support for the silicon metal bottom. Silicon metal prices were constrained in both upside and downside room and may continue to move sideways within a narrow range. Watch for fluctuations in macro expectations and changes in the PV industry, which may cause marginal disturbance to silicon metal.

[SMM Magnesium Weekly Review: Intensified Supply-Demand Tug-of-War, Magnesium Ingot Market Remains in Stalemate and Consolidation This Week] This week, the overall market for dolomite and magnesium products remained stable, with the market showing a supply-strong, demand-weak pattern. Dolomite quarries in Wutai, Shanxi, were shut down due to environmental protection measures, leading to localized tight supply of high-grade dolomite. However, national inventory remained ample, and downstream users purchased as needed, keeping prices stable. Magnesium ingot supply in major production areas was abundant, while downstream buyers only made just-in-time procurement, resulting in a stagnant market. Export orders were sluggish, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment. Magnesium powder followed the raw material trend, and the industry was in the demand off-season, with mediocre domestic and foreign trade transactions. Magnesium alloy production was steady, but enterprise orders diverged. Some producers saw rising inventory, an increase in low-priced supply, and a widening price spread. The supply-demand tug-of-war across the industry chain intensified, and short-term price fluctuations for various product categories remained limited, with the market expected to continue running steadily.

[SMM Chrome Daily: Market in the Doldrums, Transactions Remain Sluggish] June 11, 2026: The ferrochrome and chrome ore markets fluctuated slightly...

June 10, 2026 Recently, the Ordos Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology officially issued a public notice, releasing to the public the proposed list of enterprises to be supported for municipal-level reward funds for the demonstration application of fuel cell vehicle models for the 2024-2025 period (the fourth demonstration year). Through dedicated fiscal awards and subsidies, it will continue to promote the scaled-up demonstration application of local fuel cell vehicles and accelerate the high-quality development of the hydrogen energy transportation industry. This public notice was reviewed and implemented based on multiple national and local hydrogen energy support policies, with strict reference to national-level documents such as the Notice on Carrying Out the Demonstration Application of Fuel Cell Vehicles and the Notice on Launching the Demonstration Application of Fuel Cell Vehicles, as well as relevant provisions including the budget notice for Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region energy-saving and emission-reduction subsidy funds and the Ordos municipal special award-and-subsidy policy for the demonstration application of fuel cell vehicles. The project application, review, and selection work was completed to ensure that award-and-subsidy funds precisely empower high-quality demonstration projects. Following standardized evaluation, a total of five enterprises were selected for inclusion in the proposed municipal-level reward fund support list, covering local large coal energy enterprises and hydrogen energy vehicle technology enterprises. The specific entities are: Inner Mongolia Shendong Tianlong Group Co., Ltd. Huoluowan Coal Mine, Inner Mongolia Shendong Tianlong Group Co., Ltd. Wujia Ta Open-Pit Coal Mine, Inner Mongolia Huineng Group Erlintu Coal Co., Ltd., Ordos Haohua Coking Coal Co., Ltd., and Inner Mongolia Shengyuan Hongyan NEV Technology Co., Ltd. It is understood that this special reward focuses on implementation scenarios for the Shanghai urban cluster’s demonstration application of fuel cell vehicles , providing municipal-level financial support to market entities participating in the demonstration application of complete vehicles. The aim is to fully mobilize enterprises’ enthusiasm to participate in hydrogen energy transportation demonstration projects, expand the scale of fuel cell vehicle applications in local industrial and mining transportation, mobility and travel, and other fields, and consolidate the foundation for the development of the hydrogen energy transportation industry. The public notice period is from June 10 to June 15, 2026 . During the public notice period, all sectors of society may provide feedback in accordance with regulations. Feedback from organizations must bear an official seal, and feedback from individuals must be submitted under real names with valid contact information retained. Anonymous feedback and objections without factual basis will not be accepted.

June 10, 2026 – Recently, the Shengde Erdengtu hydrogen energy storage station in Huade County, Ulanqab City, 90MW/360MWh electrochemical energy storage unit was successfully connected to the grid and put into operation, marking the official entry of China’s first grid-side “electrochemical energy storage + hydrogen energy storage” independent demonstration project into the commercial operation phase. The project was jointly developed by China Hydrogen Energy Group Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Xinran Compressor Co., Ltd., leveraging domestic core hydrogen energy equipment to empower the construction of long duration energy storage (LDES) systems, supporting Inner Mongolia in building a safe and efficient new-type power system model project. According to the project planning scheme, the ESS power station has an overall total installed capacity of 100MW/400MWh , adopting a phased commissioning mode. Currently, the 90MW/360MWh electrochemical energy storage section has been connected to the grid for power generation first, while the remaining 10MW/40MWh hydrogen energy storage system has entered the final stage of equipment integrated commissioning. Among them, the full set of domestic core equipment including hydrogen compressors supplied by Shanghai Xinran has been fully installed, laying a solid hardware foundation for the project to achieve long-cycle, large-capacity green hydrogen energy storage operation. As a national-level key demonstration project for energy transition, the project innovatively created a short-duration electrochemical energy storage + long-duration hydrogen energy storage complementary operation mode, establishing a multi-level and multi-dimensional energy storage system featuring “second-level response, hour-level regulation, and cross-day and cross-seasonal storage,” effectively addressing industry pain points such as the intermittency, fluctuations, and difficulty in absorbing new energy generation. Among them, the electrochemical ESS can achieve millisecond-level fast frequency regulation, leveling out fluctuations in wind and solar power output in real time, ensuring instantaneous grid stability; the hydrogen ESS relies on the core equipment of the Xinran XR-3.8/(10-15)-29 hydrogen compressor to convert surplus new energy electricity from the grid into green hydrogen storage, with cross-seasonal and long-cycle energy dispatch capabilities, making up for the application shortcomings of conventional short-duration energy storage. Located in Huade County, Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia, the project benefits from abundant local wind and PV resources, providing high-quality clean energy support for large-scale green hydrogen production. On-site, the integrated commissioning of Xinran hydrogen compressors, hydrogen storage tanks, electrolyzers, and other core equipment has been completed, opening up the entire closed-loop industry chain of hydrogen production, compression, storage, and power generation . To cope with Inner Mongolia’s extreme conditions of severe cold and sandstorms, both parties jointly optimized and iterated equipment performance, achieving 100% independent and controllable core components and completely eliminating reliance on imports of similar equipment. The equipment can operate stably in -30°C extremely cold environments , setting a benchmark for the localisation of hydrogen energy equipment and its adaptation to extreme operating conditions. In terms of environmental protection and industrial benefits, the project boasts prominent advantages. After full-scale commercial operation, it can absorb over 500 million kWh of new energy electricity annually, reducing standard coal consumption by roughly 150,000 mt and CO2 emissions by 400,000 mt, achieving remarkable ecological emission reduction results. Meanwhile, the high-quality green hydrogen produced can be widely used as industrial raw materials, transportation fuel, and district heating, spurring the cluster development of green chemical industries such as green ammonia and green methanol, and helping Inner Mongolia build a national demonstration base for new energy equipment manufacturing and green hydrogen production and application. The successful grid connection of this electricity-hydrogen hybrid energy storage project fully verifies the feasibility and practicality of the electricity-hydrogen coupling energy storage technology route, offering a replicable and scalable practical model for the construction of new-type power systems nationwide. The industry chain synergy model between China Hydrogen Energy Group and Shanghai Xinran Compressor also provides an excellent case for industry-university-research-application collaboration and upstream-downstream integrated innovation in the hydrogen ESS sector. With the subsequent official operation of the hydrogen energy storage system, the project will be upgraded into a comprehensive energy hub integrating grid peak shaving and frequency regulation, LDES, and green hydrogen production, continuously delivering the mature "Inner Mongolia Solution" for new energy consumption and green transformation of the energy structure.