On August 10, the Zhijin Branch of the Bijie Ecological Environment Bureau in Guizhou Province released the first public notice for the environmental impact assessment of the "100,000 Tons/Year Sodium-Ion Battery Cathode Material Production Base Project (Phase I, Stage 1)." The project is located in the Zhijin Economic Development Zone (Anle Community, Chadian Township), Bijie City, Guizhou Province, with the construction entity being Guizhou Nabang New Energy Co., Ltd. The total investment for Phase I, Stage 1, is 108.3844 million yuan. The construction involves renting a factory building to build a new sodium battery plant (including a finished goods warehouse), along with supporting facilities for electrical systems, instrumentation, water supply and drainage, fire protection, and information technology. Upon completion, the project will have an annual production capacity of 5,500 tons of sodium-ion battery cathode materials (of the polyanionic type).

This week, industry chain prices diverged. Lithium ore edged down alongside lithium carbonate, but mines continued to hold prices firm, making profit distribution across the industry chain a market focus. Supported by maintenance and tight spot order supply, lithium carbonate prices consolidated on a subdued note, while lithium hydroxide prices initially fell before rebounding. The cobalt industry chain remained generally under pressure—with weakening overseas quotations and sluggish off-season demand, refined cobalt, intermediate products, and cobalt salt prices continued to weaken, and the price spread between buyers and sellers widened. Nickel sulphate edged down, with the market still primarily focused on destocking; ternary cathode precursor prices declined due to weaker nickel and cobalt salt prices, while ternary cathode material prices remained basically stable. LFP prices proved resilient, supported by rising processing fees, with August production schedules continuing to grow and high-quality capacity remaining tight. Artificial graphite prices rose, the supply-demand balance for separators stayed in tight balance, and electrolyte prices were pushed up by raw material cost transmission. Supply of key materials for sodium-ion batteries remained tight, while recycling-side transactions were subdued. On the terminal side, EV and ESS demand maintained resilience, though the consumer market recovery remained limited. Looking ahead, the focus will be on peak season stockpiling and demand realization.

In July, the sodium-ion battery materials market sustained strong momentum, with both cathode and anode segments showing clear signs of “robust demand, strained capacity.” Orders from downstream battery cell manufacturers continued to surge, particularly as the penetration rate of the polyanion route in energy storage applications accelerated, pushing upstream material enterprises to near-full-capacity operations.

In H1 2026, global lithium battery ESS shipments reached 461.3 GWh, up 71% from 269.7 GWh in the same period last year. The overall market presented a competitive landscape of "the first tier remains dominant, the second and third tiers are locked in a melee, while other enterprises struggle to survive in the cracks.

[SMM Cobalt & Lithium Morning Call: Raw Material Prices Diverge, Industry Demand Maintains Structural Support] This week, industry chain prices showed divergence. Lithium ore, lithium chemicals, nickel chemicals and cobalt products were overall under pressure. Downstream procurement remained focused on long-term contract cargo pick-ups and essential restocking, and the market still held expectations of increasing supply and price declines in the long term. Cathode material side, ternary system prices pulled back along with raw material costs, while LFP and iron phosphate strengthened slightly, supported by order growth and cost support. Anode and separator markets held stable overall, and electrolyte moved up, driven by rising additive and solvent prices. Demand from energy storage, commercial vehicles and markets outside China maintained good performance, supporting continued growth in the industry's production schedules, but recovery on the consumption side remained relatively slow.

In recent years, China's lithium battery industry, leveraging mature technology systems and well-established industry chain support, has long underpinned the rapid development of the new energy industry in China and even globally, serving as the mainstay of the current energy storage and power battery markets. To further optimize the battery industry structure and diversify new-type battery technology pathways, relevant new policies in China have recently clarified that battery consumption tax will be levied on lithium batteries in phases, while sodium-ion batteries will be exempt from the battery consumption tax from September 1 this year through the end of 2028, in order to further cultivate the sodium-ion battery industry, which is still in its early growth stage. The 2%–4% tax rate differential over 28 months creates a critical window of opportunity to accelerate the large-scale deployment and commercialization of sodium-ion batteries.