The Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission has released the first batch of major construction projects under the 2026 "1,000 Projects, 10 Trillion Yuan" Investment Plan. Within this prestigious provincial list, the energy storage sector is a major highlight, with 29 related projects selected. The scope of these projects spans the entire industrial chain—ranging from utility-scale energy storage stations to battery cell manufacturing, raw material production, and system integration. This strategic focus underscores Zhejiang's commitment to establishing a comprehensive and competitive energy storage ecosystem.

It was learned from State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Co., Ltd. that as of March 18, 2026, Xinjiang's cumulative outbound transmission of new energy electricity reached 304.36 billion kWh, surpassing the 300 billion kWh mark and accounting for about 30% of its total outbound electricity transmission. Xinjiang was an important power-sending region for the country's west-to-east power transmission and green electricity exports. By the end of 2025, Xinjiang had completed the construction of six 10-million-kW-level new energy bases, with installed new energy capacity reaching 169 million kW, accounting for 64% of Xinjiang's total installed capacity.

The listing-based trading on the Anhuida platform under the SMM Trading Center has remained active. The platform’s listing hall brings together high-quality supply sources across diverse non-ferrous metal categories, with top-tier enterprises launching bulk lots one after another. Through the efficient integration of self-listing and intelligent matching models with the supply and demand of upstream and downstream players in the industry chain, it has become an important matchmaking channel for spot trading in non-ferrous metals. To date, the platform has attracted a cumulative total of 10,171 registered enterprises, with cumulative transaction value reaching 1.98328 billion yuan and cumulative trading volume totaling 49.5719 million mt. Its trading scale and industry influence have steadily increased. As a concentration- and transparency-driven spot trading segment for non-ferrous metals, the Anhuida platform’s listing hall covers common non-ferrous metals such as copper, aluminum, zinc, and nickel, as well as new energy and minor metal categories including tin ingot and battery-grade nickel sulphate. It supports enterprises in independently publishing buy and sell intentions and offers multiple trading methods such as direct connection and intelligent matching, enabling buyers and sellers to quickly present their needs and identify counterparties, thereby significantly improving the efficiency of spot trading. Recently, the platform has featured a rich variety of popular listed categories with ample supply. It includes listings of scarce categories such as imported Indonesian tin ingot, while core new energy raw materials such as battery-grade nickel sulphate have also been launched in batches. Top industry enterprises including MCC Ramu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. and Wanhua Chemical (Yantai) Battery Industry Co., Ltd. have all published multiple batches of battery-grade nickel sulphate sales listings on the platform, with single-batch listing Volume ranging from 66 mt to 99 mt. This has provided upstream and downstream enterprises in the new energy industry chain with stable and high-quality supply channels, effectively ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of the industry chain and supply chain. With its concentrated and transparent trading environment and flexible, diversified trading methods, the Anhuida platform’s listing hall has continued to build an efficient bridge for supply and demand matching in the non-ferrous metals industry, helping enterprises reduce transaction communication costs and optimize resource allocation. In the future, the platform will continue to enrich listed categories and improve trading functions, further invigorating the spot trading market for non-ferrous metals. Trading Platform Link: Contact for Inquiries: 021-51666886 Inquiry Email: anhuida@smm.cn

CPCA: From March 1 to 15, Retail Sales in China’s New Energy Passenger Vehicle Market Reached 285,000 Units, Down 28% YoY

On March 9, Dr. Ali Alshehhi, General Manager of the China Office of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), led a delegation to visit SinoHytec New Energy for a survey, where the two sides discussed hydrogen energy cooperation and pathways for energy transition. Accompanied by senior executives including Chairman Zhou Mingqiang and Qu Youyou, Vice President of the Outside China Business Division, the company introduced its recent progress in industrialisation and scaled development. The delegation toured SinoHytec New Energy’s four major centers for R&D, testing, exhibition, and sales, and learned about the company’s technological capabilities and commercial achievements across the entire hydrogen energy industry chain. Zhou Mingqiang also responded on site to concerns from the industry. ADNOC is a wholly state-owned energy giant of the UAE. Founded in 1971, it controls about 10% of the world’s oil reserves. Its business spans the entire oil and gas industry chain, and it is accelerating its deployment in blue hydrogen, green hydrogen, and CCUS to advance its low-carbon transition. In April 2025, ADNOC set up an office in Beijing, positioning China as a core market and focusing on expanding China-UAE cooperation in the hydrogen energy sector. During the discussion, Dr. Ali Alshehhi asked whether the company’s industrial deployment across multiple locations would disperse the supply chain and affect market expansion. Zhou Mingqiang responded that the nationwide layout was designed to build a coordinated industrial closed loop by leveraging local resource endowments, enabling precise alignment between localized production and market demand, effectively improving supply chain efficiency and supporting the large-scale deployment of hydrogen energy. The two sides held in-depth exchanges on topics including diversified energy development, the expansion of hydrogen energy application scenarios, industry chain coordination, and energy security. They also exchanged views on the global energy landscape, built consensus on cooperation, and laid a foundation for subsequent practical cooperation.

Recently, the CATL New Energy Battery Base Project (Jinchui Phase I) located in Badu Town, Jiaocheng District, Ningde City, Fujian Province, is scheduled to complete delivery by the end of April 2026. Jinchui Phase I involves a total investment of approximately 2 billion yuan, covering about 900 mu of land. It plans to construct approximately 370,000 square meters of new energy battery intelligent manufacturing standard factories and supporting auxiliary facilities. Upon completion, it will become an important production base for CATL in Jiaocheng District. CATL disclosed that its production capacity reached 772 GWh in 2025, with 321 GWh under construction.

Changan Automobile released an announcement on the record of its investor relations activities, stating that the company’s overall sales target for 2026 is 3.3 million units, including 1.4 million new energy units and 750,000 units outside China. Over the next three years, it will launch a cumulative total of 43 new products, including 35 new energy car models; 26 new products will be launched in markets outside China, covering more than 140 countries and regions.

SMM Nickel News, March 19: Macro and Market News: (1) The US Fed kept interest rates unchanged at 3.5%-3.75%, while Governor Milan believed rates should be cut by 25 basis points. The impact of developments in the Middle East on the US economy remained uncertain. The dot plot maintained expectations for one interest rate cut in each of the next two years, but the distribution turned more hawkish. Market bets on the US Fed's rate cuts for the full year were reduced from about 20 basis points to less than 11 basis points. (2) Powell believed interest rates were at the high end of the neutral range, or slightly restrictive, leaving policy in a favorable position, and said the current situation was not stagflation. This energy supply disruption was a one-off event. Regarding whether he would remain in office, Powell stressed that he would not leave before the investigation concluded, and might not leave even after it concluded. If no successor was confirmed, he would continue to serve as acting chair. Spot Market: On March 19, the SMM price of #1 refined nickel fell by 3,100 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. In terms of spot premiums, the average price of Jinchuan #1 refined nickel was 6,750 yuan/mt, up 200 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; mainstream electrodeposited nickel brands in China were quoted at -300-400 yuan/mt. Futures Market: The most-traded SHFE nickel contract (2605) plunged sharply during the session and closed the morning session at 131,760 yuan/mt, down 2.79%. Tensions in the Middle East remained elevated, and the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel triggered market concerns over rising energy prices, intensifying inflation, and economic slowdown. Safe-haven sentiment heated up. Combined with the US Fed keeping interest rates unchanged while raising inflation expectations, expectations for interest rate cuts were revised down, causing metal prices to fall sharply across the board. Pressure from the macro perspective may continue to dominate market sentiment, and nickel prices are expected to remain in the doldrums.

Recently, two hydrogen-powered excavators, two hydrogen-powered loaders, and four hydrogen-powered wide-body mining trucks were officially put into operation in the Jinshan mining area, marking the implementation of the integrated “production, storage, refueling, transportation, and use” layout of Daye’s hydrogen energy industry in the application segment. This achieved the large-scale use of hydrogen-powered heavy engineering equipment in mining areas across China and injected new momentum into the green, low-carbon transformation of mines. As core equipment developed by Taiyuan Heavy Machinery, the TZ350EH hydrogen-powered excavator and TZ958EH hydrogen-powered loader worked in coordination with hydrogen-powered wide-body mining trucks, covering the entire process of mining, loading, and transportation. The equipment emitted only pure water, thoroughly improving the operating environment of traditional mining areas. This batch of hydrogen-powered equipment was deeply optimized for the complex working conditions of mines, with prominent core advantages: the hydrogen-powered excavator featured zero emissions and low noise, and could operate at full load after just five minutes of hydrogen refueling; the hydrogen-powered loader integrated hydrogen power with heavy-load performance and, equipped with proprietary technology, reduced consumption and improved efficiency; the hydrogen-powered wide-body mining truck offered fast energy replenishment, a high energy recovery rate, and excellent low-temperature starting performance, laying a solid foundation for green transportation. This large-scale deployment enabled hydrogen-powered equipment to undergo practical verification in real mining scenarios. It not only opened up a new path for the clean replacement of mining equipment, but also stabilized market demand for upstream hydrogen production, storage, and transportation, promoted coordinated development across the upstream and downstream segments of the hydrogen energy industry chain, and provided a replicable and scalable practical model for transforming traditional mining areas into green and intelligent mines.

SMM News, March 19: SHFE aluminum 2603 fluctuated downward in early trading, with the price center falling sharply from the previous trading day. Affected by the decline in aluminum prices, overall purchasing sentiment rose today. Sellers held prices firm, and today’s market mainstream quotations and transaction prices were mainly concentrated around the average price to +10 yuan/mt. Today, the shipment sentiment index in east China was 3.24, up 0.08 MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 3.16, up 0.13 MoM. Today, SHFE aluminum futures prices extended losses, and buying sentiment in the central China market was strong. Traders and downstream processing enterprises were both bullish and tended to purchase at low prices with moderate stockpiling. Meanwhile, suppliers showed a strong willingness to hold prices firm, and transaction premiums showed no sign of weakening. In the end, quotations in the central China market were mainly concentrated at premiums of 10-40 yuan over the central China price, while actual transaction prices were mainly concentrated at premiums of 20-30 yuan over the central China price. Today, the shipment sentiment index in the central China market was 2.59, flat MoM; the purchasing sentiment index was 2.43, up 0.01 MoM. Inventory side, aluminum ingot inventory in major consumption regions increased by 3,000 mt MoM today, with inventory buildup seen across all three regions. In the short term, aluminum ingot inventory continued seasonal inventory buildup after the Chinese New Year. Affected by bullish sentiment, premiums are expected to remain on a narrowing trend.