[SMM Magnesium Express]On June 12th, Hunan Magnesium Yu Technology became a joint production unit of the "2026 National Magnesium Industry Chain Distribution Map". The company is jointly established by Yueyang Urban Investment Group and Central South University, with a total investment of 1.227 billion yuan. After reaching production capacity, it can produce 10000 tons of magnesium alloy processing materials annually and plans to build the world's largest deep processing full industry chain production base for deformed magnesium alloys. The company relies on the technical team of Central South University to develop a complete set of new technologies for processing deformed magnesium alloys with independent intellectual property rights, and has obtained more than 50 national invention patents. In 2024, its participation in the "Key Technologies and Applications for the Preparation of High Performance Deformable Magnesium Alloys and Large Components" was evaluated by 8 academicians, and the overall technology reached the international leading level. With the gradual release of production capacity, the application scale of deformed magnesium alloys in high-end fields such as aerospace is expected to continue to expand.

[SMM Magnesium Express]According to reports, Shandong Huashengrong Magnesium Industry has entered the North American market with its independent soluble magnesium alloy technology. This material can naturally dissolve in underground fluids without the need for salvage and recovery, and can withstand high pressures of 110 megapascals, achieving precise segmented fracturing from 50 to 100 meters. The enterprise has mastered the world's earliest independent intellectual property soluble magnesium alloy technology and is the only domestic enterprise to achieve customized production of the entire chain from raw material smelting to downhole services. It has accumulated 50 patents and developed more than 100 types of magnesium alloy products. At present, the product has been applied in major domestic production areas such as Daqing Oilfield and Changqing Oilfield, and has been recognized in international markets such as North America and Canada, becoming another example of China's new materials going global.

[SMM Analysis] Steel billet sees notable YoY increase, while UAE’s decline hits a new low By product: Steel billet’s increase remains impressive, mainly because previous geopolitical conflicts caused periodic logistical bottlenecks and surging insurance premiums in major billet and slab production areas at some local Middle East EAF mills and BF-based plants. Overseas billet supply faced a vacuum period, directly pushing global buyers to launch massive inquiries with China. Purchasing sentiment strengthened notably in Southeast Asia in particular. According to SMM’s order-taking survey, exports are expected to stay high in the short term. It is also worth noting that Vietnam’s anti-dumping duties on China’s HRC will be implemented on April 17. As a result, total HRC exports to Vietnam in April increased compared with March, driven by a final rush to front-load shipments before the deadline. Exports are expected to pull back again in May. Data Source: SMM, General Administration of Customs By country: Djibouti’s increase topped the list. Its product mix chart clearly shows that HRC (42%) and steel billet (30%) are the dominant products. As the “Gateway to East Africa” and a transshipment hub, Djibouti itself lacks large-scale consumption capacity. This surge is essentially because repeated Red Sea tensions caused large vessels to unload and transship directly in the Mediterranean or south of the Suez Canal, with Djibouti serving as a safe transit point serving East African inland infrastructure projects such as Ethiopia, or shipping onward via smaller vessels to North Africa. As a global shipping and trade settlement center, Singapore saw an increase of 290,000 mt, mainly due to centralized procurement and trade settlement by ASEAN and Chinese-invested construction projects in Singapore, which provided marginal support for China’s exports of bars, wire rods, and other infrastructure-related finished steel products. The UAE dropped 870,000 mt, and Saudi Arabia dropped 450,000 mt. This was primarily due to geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East, compounded by excessive stockpiling by major Middle Eastern buyers earlier to avoid logistics risks, pushing the Middle East market into a defensive cycle of destocking and slower purchasing. Data Source: SMM, General Administration of Customs Outlook: SMM’s April orders remain at a high level, and May exports are still expected to see increases. According to SMM’s steel export order data, affected by holidays, steel export orders in April dipped slightly by 0.57% MoM from March. However, it is also learned that shipping to the Middle East is gradually recovering, and orders for slabs destined for Southeast Asia saw a significant increase in April. Taking all factors into consideration—with the new export orders index re-entering expansion territory, the export price advantage still significant, and export order performance excellent—SMM expects that China’s steel exports in May will still see growth, with steel billet continuing to play a dominant role. Data Source: SMM Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

Capacity side, according to incomplete statistics, China's alkaline electrolyzer market remained at 43.77 GW, and the PEM electrolyzer market remained at 2.7 GW. This week, Peric Hydrogen, a subsidiary of CSSC 718 Research Institute, exported customized integrated hydrogen production and refueling station equipment to Indonesia. Suzhou Suqing Hydrogen Production Equipment Co., Ltd. completed the shipment of a 5 MW containerized green electricity hydrogen production system, serving the first "five-in-one" integrated energy station project combining oil, gas, hydrogen, electricity, and storage in Northwest China. Project-related updates: CGN (Wuhai Hainan District) New Energy Co., Ltd. : CGN (Wuhai Hainan District) New Energy's hydrogen-based green fuel grid-connected green electricity direct-connection project (hydrogen production section) was officially registered. The project is located in the High-tech Low-carbon Industrial Park in Hainan District, Wuhai City, with a total investment of 313.6992 million yuan. The project plans to build a 22,000 Nm³/h hydrogen production facility, equipped with 22 alkaline water electrolysis units each with a capacity of 1,000 Nm³/h, along with supporting gas-liquid separation and hydrogen purification facilities, producing hydrogen with a purity of 99.999%. The construction period is scheduled from November 2026 to November 2028. Jiyuan (Siping) Green Energy Co., Ltd. : Jiyuan (Siping) Green Energy selected its affiliated party, State Nuclear Electric Power Planning Design & Research Institute, through public tender to undertake the EPC general contracting project for the hydrogen production facility, with a fixed contract price of 204.96 million yuan. The general contracting scope covers the design of the hydrogen production facility, procurement of equipment and materials excluding Party A-supplied electrolysis water complete sets of equipment and rectifier cabinets, civil construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance, and full-process warranty services, with qualified hydrogen output scheduled before August 30, 2027. Wojiang Clean Energy (Xinjiang Zhundong Economic and Technological Development Zone) Co., Ltd.: The general contracting contract for the Zhundong 2 billion m³/year coal-to-natural gas project was signed in Urumqi. The project is located in Changji Zhundong Economic Development Zone, with a total investment of 15.486 billion yuan. It is expected to commence production by the end of October 2026, with supporting output of multiple types of by-products. The project includes supporting electrolysis hydrogen production integrated with green methanol production, and plans a 650,000 mt/year CCUS carbon capture facility to be implemented in two phases, progressively achieving full green electricity coverage while simultaneously demonstrating large-scale crushed coal pressurized gasifiers to advance the scaling-up of coal-to-gas equipment. Da'an Jidian Green Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd. : The Da'an wind and solar green hydrogen-to-ammonia integrated demonstration project issued a tender for additional equipment, planning to add one set of 1,000 Nm³/h alkaline electrolysis hydrogen production unit. The project broke ground in May 2023 and commenced production in July 2025, supported by 800 MW of wind and solar power capacity. It adopts a dual-route hydrogen production approach of 36,000 Nm³/h alkaline plus 9,600 Nm³/h PEM, with an annual output of 32,000 mt of green hydrogen and 180,000 mt of green ammonia, while simultaneously deploying two types of large-capacity hydrogen storage facilities using solid-state and organic liquid technologies. Longyuan Power Group Co., Ltd.: Longyuan Power announced the winning candidate for the procurement of 500 Nm³/h PEM electrolyzer equipment for the Zhangye Carbon Neutrality Industrial Base Wind-Solar-Hydrogen-Storage Integration Project. Dongfang Electric (Chengdu) Hydrogen Energy ranked first with a bid of 6.3 million yuan. The project is located in the Circular Economy Demonstration Park of Zhangye Economic Development Zone and is SPIC Gansu's first green electricity-to-hydrogen project. It plans to build a 22,000 Nm³/h alkaline hydrogen production main unit with supporting hydrogen storage tanks, and simultaneously construct a 2,000 Nm³/h hydrogen production pilot platform including a 500 Nm³/h PEM unit. Yanchang Petroleum Gas Group Transportation Energy Company: The hydrogen refueling demonstration station at the Fuping Service Area (North Zone) on the Beijing-Kunming Expressway, constructed by the company, successfully achieved mechanical completion and entered the commissioning phase. The station is a standardized Level 3 hydrogen refueling station equipped with an intelligent hydrogen refueling control system capable of automated operations and full-process monitoring and traceability. After commissioning, the station will primarily serve hydrogen-powered heavy trucks and intercity hydrogen buses, filling the gap in hydrogen refueling infrastructure along the Weinan section of the Beijing-Kunming Expressway and improving the hydrogen refueling network for the green freight loop from Hancheng to Fuping and Huangling. Guangdong Yuntao Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd.: Two major hydrogen energy projects of Yuntao Hydrogen Energy were launched. Its Beitai Road hydrogen refueling station was officially put into operation, becoming a new benchmark hydrogen refueling station in south China. The station is a supporting project for the Minke Park, benchmarked against the Liangtian model hydrogen refueling station. It covers an area of 3,100 m², is equipped with 4 hydrogen dispensers and 8 hydrogen refueling nozzles, with a maximum 24-hour refueling capacity of 4,000 kg, capable of serving 200 hydrogen-powered dump trucks or 400 cold chain logistics vehicles per day, further improving the vehicle hydrogen refueling network in the Greater Bay Area. Huawang (Qingdao) Hydrogen Energy Technology Group Co., Ltd. : The pre-award announcement for the hydrogen refueling station equipment procurement project of Qingdao Hydrogen Energy Industrial Park was released. Shanghai Hydrogen Maple Energy and Jiangsu Guofu Hydrogen Energy were listed as the top two candidates, with bids of 14.18 million yuan and 13.67 million yuan, respectively. The project was jointly tendered by Huawang (Qingdao) Hydrogen Energy and PetroChina Pipeline Bureau Engineering. The total project investment is 70 million yuan, with a construction cost of 14.5 million yuan. The project covers an area of 5,761 m² and plans to build a Level 3 hydrogen refueling station with a building area of 1,302 m², designed for a maximum daily 12-hour hydrogen refueling capacity of 2,500 kg, equipped with 4 units of 35 MPa hydrogen dispensers and 8 hydrogen refueling nozzles. This tender covers the full process including complete hydrogen refueling equipment, valves, automation, electrical supply, and on-site installation and commissioning. Huadian New Energy Group Co., Ltd. Fujian Branch: The Quanzhou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment approved the environmental impact assessment document for Huadian Fujian's 5 MW flexible off-grid seawater hydrogen production technology research and pilot verification project. The project is constructed by Huadian New Energy Group Co., Ltd. Fujian Branch and is located at the No. 10 wind turbine site of Quanhui Wind Farm in Quanhui Petrochemical Industrial Park. As a seawater-to-hydrogen pilot project, it relies on two on-site wind turbines for power supply to conduct off-grid electrolysis seawater hydrogen production experiments. The project covers a total area of 1,683.80 m², with a total operation duration of 1,000 hours and a total investment of 18.7 million yuan, of which 1.681 million yuan is for environmental protection. The overall system consists of six major functional modules and supporting utilities. Policy Review 1. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other departments issued a notice on the release of the Guidelines for Non-fossil Energy Electricity Consumption Accounting (Trial). The document states that coordination with energy statistics, carbon emission accounting, and other systems should be strengthened. Factors such as physical connections, electricity energy trading, and green electricity certificate and green electricity trading should be comprehensively considered to classify and clarify the rules for recognizing non-fossil energy electricity consumption and the accounting methods at the provincial (autonomous region, municipality directly under the central government, the same hereinafter) and municipal (prefecture-level) levels, as well as for electricity users. Recognition methods for non-fossil energy electricity consumption: Physical recognition. Self-generated and self-consumed electricity from non-fossil energy sources, and self-consumed electricity from new business models such as green electricity direct connection, are recognized as the non-fossil energy electricity consumption of the electricity user. Production electricity consumed by non-fossil energy power generation projects is recognized as the non-fossil energy electricity consumption of the respective power generation enterprise. Transaction recognition. This includes two recognition methods: electricity energy trading (including conventional non-fossil energy electricity trading, green electricity trading, etc., the same hereinafter) and green electricity certificate trading (including green electricity certificate transfers, etc., the same hereinafter). 2. The Jilin Provincial Energy Bureau and the Jilin Provincial Development and Reform Commission jointly issued a notice on the Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Integrated and Converged Development of New Energy in Jilin Province. Overall objectives: By 2030, integrated and converged development will become an important approach for new energy development across the province. New scenarios featuring integration and convergence will continue to emerge. The province's new energy development models will be more flexible, consumption pathways more diversified, application scenarios more abundant, and the electricity market more dynamic. More than 50 integrated and converged projects and application scenarios will be completed, providing strong support for the comprehensive green transformation of the province's economic and social development. 3. The Guangdong Provincial Administration for Market Regulation issued a public notice soliciting opinions on the Guangdong provincial local standard Operational Specifications for Integrated Hydrogen Production, Storage, and Refueling Devices (Review Draft). The document states that this standard specifies the basic requirements, personnel management, equipment and facility management, hydrogen quality management, hydrogen refueling operation management, safety management, archive management, and data recording for the operation of integrated hydrogen production, storage, and refueling devices. Enterprise Updates Tianji Hydrogen Energy Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. : Tianji Hydrogen Energy successively signed agreements with Jiaqing New Energy and Manst Hydrogen Energy. The three parties will conduct in-depth industry chain cooperation in green hydrogen equipment and project development. According to the agreements, the parties will cooperate in multiple dimensions including electrolyzer and post-processing system procurement, joint project bidding, and agency sales. They will also establish strict intellectual property protection and exclusive collaboration mechanisms to ensure the stability and competitiveness of cooperative projects, and jointly tackle hydrogen energy application challenges across multiple scenarios. SPIC Green Energy Co., Ltd.: Huang Qiang, Secretary of the Jilin Provincial Party Committee, conducted a survey on major project construction in Changchun and Siping. He emphasized the need to fully implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping regarding work in Jilin, focus on building a modern industrial system and modern infrastructure system, and accelerate the advancement of major project construction. Jiangsu Trina Green Hydrogen Technology Co., Ltd. : Trina Green Hydrogen signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Nanjing Institute of the Fifth Electronics Research Institute of MIIT. The two parties will focus on the urgent needs for high-quality development of the PV+ESS+hydrogen industry, and conduct in-depth collaboration across five major areas: joint construction of a comprehensive PV+ESS+hydrogen testing platform, joint research on cutting-edge technologies, product detection and evaluation, industry standard development, and full-chain industrial technology services. Through the strong alliance model of "industry leader + authoritative scientific research and detection institution," they aim to address the shortcomings in PV+ESS+hydrogen equipment testing and verification. Enric (Bengbu) Compressor Co., Ltd. : Two large skid-mounted hydrogen pipeline compressors independently designed and with core technologies self-developed by the company successfully completed factory acceptance testing and were officially shipped for delivery. The equipment will support China's first long-distance green hydrogen transmission pipeline project. China Southern Power Grid Power Technology Co., Ltd.: The company completed core technology breakthroughs for long-endurance hydrogen-powered drones and successfully conducted pilot applications in mountain power grid inspection scenarios at the Meizhou Power Supply Bureau of Guangdong Power Grid. Wuhu Shipyard (Wuhu Shipyard Co., Ltd. : The Tongzhouwan site at Wuhu Shipyard's Nantong base completed the semi-submersible float-off launching of the vessel "18515." The vessel is an 18,500-deadweight-tonnage methanol dual-fuel high-end chemical tanker and is the first vessel in the series. It has a total length of 149.8 meters, a design speed of 14 knots, and can use methanol as clean fuel. This launching cleared a key step in standardized construction and will help promote local shipbuilding industry development. Zhangjiagang Port Group Co., Ltd. : The first round of bidding for Zhangjiagang Port's 10 hydrogen fuel cell tractor project had only two valid suppliers, failing to meet the bid opening requirements. The procurement method was changed to negotiated procurement. This procurement involves 10 units of 45 kN hydrogen fuel cell tractors, including 1 unit with intelligent assisted driving, for intra-port transfer operations and required to be compatible with existing flatbed trailers. Taiyuan Public Transport Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd. : The company selected a local gas supply service provider through merit-based evaluation to ensure daily hydrogen supply for 6 hydrogen-powered buses, with unit price settlement based on actual gas consumption. The supplied hydrogen must comply with the GB/T3634.2-2011 high-purity hydrogen standard. The service provider is required to deploy fixed hydrogen refueling stations in Taiyuan, prioritize emergency hydrogen refueling for public buses, implement one-card-per-vehicle hydrogen refueling management, with a project service period of two years. Lanzhou Lanshi Petroleum Equipment Engineering Co., Ltd.: The second-generation 45 MPa ionic liquid hydrogen compressor and 22 MPa hydraulic-driven piston hydrogen compressor, customized for a domestic energy station, successfully completed all testing procedures including boost commissioning and electrical control system joint debugging. Patent Applications 1. Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) published patent CN2025110028, developing a ceramic-based anion exchange membrane with a laboratory-tested lifespan of 80,000 hours. 2. Johnson Matthey (UK) filed patent WO2025109876, disclosing an Fe-Ni-Mo ternary non-precious metal catalyst formulation with activity approaching that of platinum-based materials. Technology Footprint/Technical Specifications 1. The team led by Professor Li Zhipeng from Northwestern Polytechnical University innovatively constructed a three-dimensional multi-physics coupling model for tubular solid oxide fuel cells, systematically revealing the quantitative effects of temperature, electrode thickness, porosity, and oxygen domain geometric parameters on battery output performance. 2. The National Hydrogen Energy Power Quality Inspection and Testing Center of China Automotive Engineering Research Institute completed and commercially opened a 0–400 kW hydrogen-involved loaded tri-axial vibration testing platform, addressing the shortcomings in large power hydrogen-involved multi-physics coupling testing in China. 3. The high specific power cathode-closed air-cooled fuel cell stack technology developed by the team of Academician Chen Zhongwei and Associate Researcher Zhang Meng from the National Key Laboratory of Energy Catalytic Conversion at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics passed the scientific and technological achievement appraisal by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. This technology effectively resolves the industry contradiction between water retention and oxygen mass transfer in air-cooled fuel cells, addressing technical challenges such as low-humidity performance degradation, carbon corrosion, membrane drying and flooding, and high-power thermal management. 4. Two group standards on hydrogen production by water electrolysis were officially released and implemented: Technical Specifications for Safety of Hydrogen Production by Water Electrolysis and Accounting Methods for Economic Operation Indicators of Hydrogen Production by Water Electrolysis. 5. Petronor and H2SITE collaborated to advance membrane technology for hydrogen production, improving high-purity hydrogen and low-carbon efficiency in refining. 6. Dalian University of Technology designed an electron pump catalyst with an asymmetric photo-responsive structure, maintaining the asymmetry of electron distribution.

[SMM Analysis] Indian Steel Prices Continued to Weaken, Southeast Asian Procurement Sentiment Remained Cautious From the price spread model, billet/slab: Chinese resources expanded their advantage in the Indonesian market, with the price spread hitting a new monthly low. The inversion between China HRC (FOB) and core ex-China markets deteriorated across the board this week, with multiple indicators hitting historical or periodic highs mid-week, except for the China-India spread which rebounded. Chinese resources are expected to continue offering low FOB prices to Southeast Asia and the Middle East next week, and the price spread matrix is unlikely to narrow significantly in the short term. Meanwhile, considering the approaching EU new regulations, June will be a window period for intense price collapse between Indian and Chinese resources in non-EU markets (such as the Middle East and ASEAN). By sub-market, Indian HRC export prices continued to weaken last week, with suppliers lowering offers to stimulate demand amid an overall sluggish regional market. Vietnam remained the primary export destination for Indian SAE1006 HRC, with August shipment offers gradually declining from $580/mt CFR to $565–570/mt CFR. The price decline was still driven by persistently weak demand, intensified competition among exporters, and widespread market expectations of further regional price declines. According to market rumors, a 30,000 mt cargo of Indian HRC was transacted at $565–570/mt CFR Vietnam last week, below the latest market offer of $572/mt CFR quoted on Friday. However, overall transaction activity remained limited, with Vietnamese buyers mostly adopting a wait-and-see strategy, focusing on the upcoming new monthly HRC price announcements from Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation and Hoa Phat Group before deciding on new procurement plans. Market participants noted that cautious downstream demand and expectations of continued price declines continued to suppress buyer restocking willingness. Overall, the demand environment facing Indian exporters remained challenging. Southeast Asian market: Affected by weak downstream demand and market expectations of further price declines, overall steel trading sentiment remained cautious, with procurement activity continuing to be suppressed. In Vietnam, domestic HRC prices showed a weakening trend due to sluggish new orders and traders maintaining low inventory management. Downstream buyers also mostly adopted a wait-and-see approach, on one hand waiting for local steel mills to announce new monthly offers, and on the other hand closely monitoring China steel futures price fluctuations. Meanwhile, Indonesian suppliers remained among the most competitive sellers in the region, offering HRC to Vietnam at approximately $585/mt CFR, continuing to exert pressure on regional prices. On June 1, Hoa Phat announced its latest price adjustment, lowering HRC offers by $13/mt. Following this announcement, local market transaction prices are expected to continue declining. Overall, seasonal demand weakness, ample market supply, and cautious procurement behavior will collectively keep trading activity in the Southeast Asian market subdued. Turkish market: Affected by the Eid al-Adha holiday, sheets & plates trading in the Middle East and Turkey largely stalled this week, with long and flat product prices remaining stable. By product, as July shipping quota is about to be readjusted, EU buyers' purchasing remained weak, and Turkey's HRC exports to the EU had been quiet since before the holiday. However, as current orders were relatively sufficient, Turkish steel mills were not in a hurry to lower prices to close deals before the quota announcement, but instead focused more on domestic sales. In the long product market, due to regional conflicts and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East causing continued logistics disruptions, China's rebar exports to the Middle East declined. Turkish suppliers successfully captured this market gap, with rebar exports rebounding significantly in April, and exports to Yemen, Africa, and parts of Europe also achieved notable growth. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

On May 27, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced a partial final determination in the Section 337 investigation involving TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) solar cells, modules, panels, components thereof, and downstream products containing the same. The ITC decided not to review the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) initial determination issued on April 27, thereby approving BYD America LLC’s motion to intervene in the investigation as a third party.

[SMM Analysis] Weak Downstream Consumption Increases Pressure on Ex-China Steel Trading Price spread model, the price inversion of Chinese steel relative to overseas markets (India, Japan, Turkey, Black Sea) deepened further in late May. In particular, Chinese resources were cheaper compared to Indonesia, and the price spread was "narrowing at an accelerating pace." For pure ex-China inter-regional price spreads, India's decline was more pronounced compared to other regions, as weak domestic demand drove aggressive low-price bidding. Segment-wise, steel procurement sentiment in Southeast Asia became more cautious last week, with coil prices weakening. In Vietnam, coated steel and steel pipe prices began to slow down after a prolonged rally, and buyers became increasingly cautious about restocking ahead of the rainy season. Meanwhile, due to weak demand and growing pressure from low-priced imports, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a subsidiary of Taiwan's China Steel Corporation, also cut its HRC quotations by $5-10/mt to $598-603/mt CIF Vietnam. Although some Vietnamese downstream steel mills continued to raise or maintain prices due to earlier increases in raw material costs and tight spot supply, some producers had begun to limit orders or delay quotations while waiting for a clearer market direction. Notably, Indonesian HRC quotations remained competitive with relatively active exports, with FOB prices at around $565/mt. According to SMM survey, recent transaction prices to Vietnam were around $585/mt CFR. Turkey market: As the Middle East was set to enter a long holiday mid-week, most market participants had already exited early. According to SMM survey, no clear large-volume transactions were seen in the Turkish steel scrap market last week. Meanwhile, as domestic rebar demand remained sluggish, steel mills pushed their target purchase prices for European HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap below $400/mt CFR to pass on the pressure. The recent euro depreciation and slight correction in ocean freight rates opened up some discount room for European sellers to a certain extent, but judging from actual market transactions, sellers still found it difficult to accept such low prices. At the same time, US exporters continued to hold prices firm at $420/mt CFR. In addition, mainstream quotations for Turkish domestic HRC remained at $660-675/mt EXW. Due to exchange rate fluctuations and high production costs, steel mills were striving to hold prices firm, but downstream buyers remained cautious in purchasing, with expected psychological prices 15-20 $/mt lower. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

[SMM Analysis] The Impact of Geopolitical Conflicts on Steel Exports Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

[SMM Global Steel Enterprise Special Report] A Detailed Analysis of US "Steel King" Nucor: 100% Electric Arc Furnace Forging High Profits, Vertical Integration Mitigating Cost Fluctuations Nucor Corporation is a company incorporated in Delaware in 1958. The company and its subsidiaries are engaged in the manufacture of steel and steel products. It also produces and procures ferrous and non-ferrous metal materials, primarily for use in its steelmaking operations. Most of its operating facilities and clients are located in North America. Its operations include international trading and sales companies responsible for buying and selling steel and steel products manufactured by the company and others. Nucor is also the largest recycler in North America, using steel scrap as the primary raw material for producing steel and steel products. In 2025, it recycled approximately 20 million gross tons of steel scrap. Operating Performance Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Reasons behind the performance changes: ① Decline in gross profit: The primary reason for the decline in gross profit in 2025 was the compression of profit margins in the steel products segment. Due to lower average selling prices, gross profits from the grating and decking, building systems, and rebar fabrication businesses under this segment all experienced significant declines. ② Steel mill segment growth: In contrast, gross profit in the steel mill segment increased, primarily driven by higher sales and improved steel industry spreads. ③ Investment expenditures: Over the past three years, Nucor invested approximately $9.73 billion in capital expenditures and acquisitions, aiming to expand its product portfolio and enhance operational flexibility. Segments, Major Products, and Marketing Nucor reports its results in three segments: the steel mills segment, the steel products segment, and the raw materials segment. The steel mills segment is Nucor's largest segment, accounting for 62% of the company's sales to external clients for the fiscal year ended 2025. It primarily sells its products to steel service centers, manufacturers, and fabricating enterprises located in the US, Canada, and Mexico. In 2025, the steel mills segment sold approximately 19,848 kt of products to external clients. Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM The Steel Products segment primarily produces high-value-added downstream construction and industrial components, holding leading positions across the U.S. in multiple sub-segments including steel joists, prefabricated metal buildings, and insulated metal panels. It accounted for 29% of the Company's net sales to external clients for the year ended 2025. In 2025, total sales of major products in the Steel Products segment were approximately 1.478 million mt, including approximately 658,000 mt of steel joists and joist girders, approximately 436,000 mt of steel deck, and approximately 384,000 mt of metal building systems. Although physical sales volume (tonnage) was far below that of the Steel Mills segment, the per-mt selling price and profit margin were much higher than those of basic steel, and the segment also ranked first in market share across the U.S. in multiple areas. Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM The Raw Materials segment is the cornerstone of Nucor's vertical integration strategy, primarily operated through its wholly-owned subsidiary The David J. Joseph Company (DJJ), and manages DRI production facilities in Louisiana and Trinidad. By blending DRI with steel scrap, it supports electric arc furnace (EAF) production of higher-grade sheets & plates while ensuring cost advantages and supply security of raw materials. It accounted for 9% of the Company's net sales to external clients for the year ended 2025. In 2025, approximately 20 million gross tons of steel scrap were recycled and processed. Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Clients and Markets Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Major Development Projects in Recent Years The vast majority (91%) of Nucor's capital was allocated to internal construction (CapEx), strengthening core competitiveness through technology upgrades (such as electric arc furnaces and micro mills); a small portion was used for strategic acquisitions to achieve "outward expansion" into high-margin downstream areas. Through acquisitions such as SWDP, the company quickly entered high-barrier, high-growth sub-segments including data centers and green energy, making its business structure more resilient to cyclical downturns. Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Core Logic of Vertical Integration for Cost Reduction: Raw Material Supply Structure Data source: Nucor Corporation Annual Report、SMM Core Risk Factors The greatest risk facing Nucor is a combination of internal and external challenges — internally, cost fluctuations in steel scrap and energy; externally, the impact of low-priced imported steel resulting from global (especially China's) overcapacity. Specifically: 1. Core Industry Risks ① Severe global supply-demand imbalance: Global steel surplus capacity reached 704 million net mt in 2025 (8 times US annual production). It is expected to further increase to 795 million mt by 2027. ② Regional impact: China's annual production has exceeded 1 billion mt in each of the past 8 years, and Chinese steelmakers continue to invest in new capacity in Southeast Asia and Africa. ② Import shock: This surplus leads to a flood of low-priced steel into the US market, creating significant downward pressure on Nucor's product prices, sales, and profit margins. 2. Production Cost Risks ① Steel scrap price sensitivity: Nucor uses 100% electric arc furnaces (EAF), with steel scrap being the largest cost item. Steel scrap prices fluctuate significantly and are beyond Nucor's control. ② Supply chain uncertainty: Although Nucor has achieved a degree of self-sufficiency through its DRI plants and DJJ recycling system, pig iron and iron ore pellets still rely on international procurement, facing geopolitical risks (e.g., Ukraine, Russia, Brazil). 3. Operational Challenges ① Energy-intensive nature: Steelmaking relies on large amounts of electricity (for melting) and natural gas (for heating and DRI production). ② Cost pass-through: Energy prices are affected by demand, the regulatory environment, and transmission infrastructure (pipelines/power grid), and cost surges may erode profits. 4. Compliance and ESG Risks ① Emission reduction pressure: The steel industry faces intense scrutiny due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ② Policy risk: Although Nucor's emission intensity is far lower than its blast furnace peers, increasingly stringent environmental protection laws and regulations may increase capital expenditures or restrict operations at existing facilities. 5. End-Use Market Risks ① Industry cyclicality: The steel industry is highly correlated with the macro economy. ② End-use market fluctuations: Nucor's largest market is non-residential construction. If this sector (e.g., commercial offices, industrial facilities) contracts due to high interest rates or economic recession, it will directly impact Nucor's performance severely. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

[SMM Analysis] Overseas Steel Price Spread Continues to Narrow, Off-Season Impact Intensifies From the price spread model, the price spread between China and Indonesia steel billet continued to narrow, with China's offer raised while Indonesia's remained stable to slightly lower. Meanwhile, the driving force behind overseas steel price increases weakened somewhat, and the price spread continued to narrow. Notably, as India's domestic demand slowed down, Indian steel mills (such as RINL) began returning to the international market to compete for orders, causing the price spread between Indian and Chinese resources to narrow. By sub-market, last week in Southeast Asia: Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation in Vietnam lowered its HRC offer for large-volume orders by $5-10/mt to $598-603/mt (CIF Vietnam), while offers from other origins remained largely stable amid limited buying interest and a lack of firm bids. In Vietnam's long steel market, market activity weakened due to persistent hot weather and soft construction demand, though government infrastructure projects continued to advance steadily. Market participants noted that long steel sales declined in May and may weaken further before the rainy season arrives in July. Although steel mills have not officially cut rebar prices, some have begun offering discounts of approximately 50-200 VND/kg ($2-8/mt) due to sluggish dealer demand. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, a steel mill lowered its export slab offer for July shipment by $5/mt MoM to $525/mt (FOB). Middle East: Last week, Saudi Arabia's HRC import market overall exhibited a strong tug-of-war between "firm cost side and weak end-use demand." Driven by geopolitical premiums and overseas supply-side price hikes, the overall center of import landed costs shifted upward, but downstream buyers had limited capacity to absorb high-priced resources, wait-and-see sentiment was strong, and actual overall trading activity during the week remained sluggish. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions continued to disrupt supply chains. Due to restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, overseas HRC resources destined for Saudi Arabia still heavily rely on the western port of Jeddah for delivery. Uncertainty in the logistics chain and freight premiums continued to strongly push up the landed cost of Asian resources into Saudi Arabia. In addition, Galva Hub, located within the Metal Park industrial zone in KEZAD, Abu Dhabi, has successfully completed operational testing of the region's largest galvanizing pot (accommodating nearly 900 mt of zinc) and is about to initiate zinc melting and enter the formal production phase, while deepening downstream supporting construction for employee accommodation projects. Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement: This report is independently created or compiled by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SMM"), and SMM legally enjoys complete copyright and related intellectual property rights. The copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information property rights, and other related intellectual property rights of all content contained in this report (including but not limited to information, articles, data, charts, pictures, audio, video, logos, advertisements, trademarks, trade names, domain names, layout designs, etc.) are owned or held by SMM or its related right holders. The above rights are strictly protected by relevant laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, as well as applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no institution or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reprinting, modifying, selling, transferring, displaying, translating, compiling, disseminating); 2. Disclose the content of this report to any third party; 3. License or authorize any third party to use the content of this report; 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will legally pursue the legal responsibilities of the infringer, demanding that they bear legal responsibilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, returning unjust enrichment, and compensating for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (Except for publicly available information, other data in this report are derived from publicly available information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, brokerage reports, data from the National Bureau of Statistics, customs import and export data, various data published by major associations and institutions, etc.), market exchanges, and comprehensive analysis and reasonable inferences made by the research team based on SMM's internal database models. This information is for reference only and does not constitute decision-making advice. SMM reserves the final interpretation right of the terms in this statement and the right to adjust and modify the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.