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.

Since July, demand across the LFP industry chain has continued to rise, but the supply-side response has lagged. The most notable feature of the current market is that supply tightness is rapidly transmitting from downstream to upstream, creating a cascading inversion of "battery cell production schedule > LFP cathode production schedule > iron phosphate production schedule."

[SMM Analysis] The demand along the LFP industry chain continues to rise, but the response from the supply side is significantly lagging. The most notable feature of the current market is that supply tightness is rapidly transmitting from the bottom up, forming a cascading inversion of "battery cell production schedule > LFP cathode production schedule > iron phosphate production schedule," with the slow release of LFP capacity and the iron phosphate industry segment having become the most prominent bottleneck in the entire chain.

[SMM Molybdenum Analysis: Supply-side supported a strong molybdenum market in July; supply-demand support logic persists in August] SMM July 31 report: In July, China’s molybdenum market maintained a pattern of strong concentrates and weak ferro-molybdenum, with the overall market consolidating at highs. Industry chain profits continued to concentrate upstream. In July, China’s molybdenum concentrates market faced many supply disruptions in China and overseas. Coupled with downstream ferro-molybdenum steel tender volumes strengthening both YoY and MoM, and robust demand, these bullish supply-demand fundamentals drove prices of molybdenum concentrates and ferro-molybdenum to repeatedly hit three-year highs, challenging previous highs.

Outokumpu reported Q2 2026 sales revenue up 6.5% YoY to €1.58 billion, with adjusted EBITDA rising 33.3% to €100 million, driven by improved European performance and continued strong Americas results. The company posted a net profit of €25 million, reversing a net loss of €19 million in Q2 2025. Stainless steel deliveries rose 5% QoQ and 1% YoY to 488,000mt, while ferrochrome deliveries increased 4% QoQ and 12.9% YoY to 114,000mt on robust demand for low-emission European ferrochrome. For H1 2026, sales revenue edged up 0.8% YoY to €3.03 billion, adjusted EBITDA grew 32.3% to €164 million, and net profit reached €18 million versus a net loss of €37 million in H1 2025. Under its EVOLVE strategy, Outokumpu will launch a €30 million first-phase investment at its Avesta plant in Sweden to expand into high-nickel alloys, with total investment estimated at €150 million. For Q3, stainless steel deliveries are expected to decline up to 10% QoQ due to seasonal factors, with adjusted EBITDA forecast to remain broadly stable.

The first half of 2026 is already in the past. At the start of H2, industry chain enterprises have begun to release their H1 2026 performance forecasts collectively. Notably, against the backdrop of a significantly higher YoY lithium price center, stable demand in the NEV industry, and a continuously booming energy storage sector, most enterprises in the lithium industry chain expect varying degrees of performance improvement. SMM has compiled the performance forecast situations of some enterprises in the industry chain, as follows: