On March 31, the National Grid announced that the Shaanxi-Henan ± 800 kV UHV DC project, the final project of the "three exchanges and nine direct" projects in the National "14th Five-Year" plan, with a total investment of 19 billion yuan.It starts in Yulin, Shaanxi, and ends in Kaifeng, Henan, passing through Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan provinces. The total length of the line is 728 kilometers, the transmission capacity is 8 million kilowatts, and it is planned to be completed and put into operation in 2028.

On March 31, the National Grid announced that the Panxi UHV AC project, the first UHV AC project to start construction during the "14th Five-Year Plan" of the National Grid, has a total investment of about 23.2 billion yuan. The project will pass through 12 counties (districts) in Liangshan, Yibin, and Leshan, build two 1000 kV substations in Panxi and Chuannan, and expand Tianfu South Station. The total length of the line is 994 kilometers, and it is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2028.

LG Energy Solution announced on April 3 that it has joined the automotive software open marketplace platform SDVerse, becoming the first battery manufacturer to participate. SDVerse is a B2B vehicle software platform founded by General Motors, Magna International, and Wipro. The platform provides an open ecosystem where automakers, global suppliers, and software developers can trade software solutions, supporting the transition toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs).

According to Westwater Resources on the 3rd, it received a contract termination notice from SK On on March 31 (local time). Under the agreement, SK On had planned to source up to 34,000 tons of natural graphite produced at Westwater’s Kellyton facility in Alabama between 2027 and 2031, but the plan has been canceled following the termination.

US President Trump adjusted the national security tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum, and copper, lowering the tariff rates on derivative products made from these metals, streamlining compliance procedures, and preventing the declared value of imports from being understated.A senior Trump administration official said that, under a proclamation signed by Trump, the US would continue to maintain a 50% import tariff on imports of metal commodities such as steel, aluminum, and copper pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1974, but would apply this rate to the price paid by US consumers. It is currently unclear how the selling price—and the resulting tariffs—would be determined.

Supply glut, cautious demand, and fading cost support drag the benchmark contract down RMB 205/mt in the week of March 30 – April

This week, ferrous metals were in the doldrums. The main logic during the week remained weakening cost support. On Tuesday, Iran proposed charging transit fees for the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump made conciliatory remarks, saying that “even if the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed, he would still be willing to end military action against Iran.” Market expectations for tighter crude oil supply weakened, and declines in the energy sector dragged down the coal sector, weakening the cost-side logic. During the week, inventories of the five major steel products continued to decline, but apparent demand remained at a low level for the same period in previous years, providing limited fundamental-driven momentum to futures. In the spot market, purchasing interest was average, mainly focused on restocking at low prices. Spot prices were relatively firm, and the spot-futures price spread widened somewhat......

On April 2, 2026, the White House ushered US steel trade policy into "Version 2.0." This strategic shift goes beyond simple tariff hikes. It uses full-value taxation and melt-and-pour traceability to block low-end imported raw materials, while applying structural tariff reductions to finished products to ease manufacturing inflation. Ultimately, this two-pronged approach aims to forcibly bring the global supply chain back to domestic US steel production.

On April 1, 2026, the launch ceremony for the Zhongke Liquid Sunshine (Shawan) Green Hydrogen Coupled Zero‑Carbon Liquid Sunshine Methanol Circular Economy Industrial Project was held in Shawan, Tacheng Prefecture, Xinjiang. As a flagship project of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan strategic hydrogen energy layout, the project has officially entered the construction phase. Led by the research team of Academician Li Can of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and developed by Zhongke Liquid Sunshine (Shawan) Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd . , the project will build an integrated zero‑carbon circular economy system centered on wind‑solar power, green hydrogen, and methanol. It comprises three core modules: an annual output of 3.6 million tonnes of methanol, 13.5 GW of photovoltaic hydrogen production capacity, and an annual output of approximately one million tonnes of coal. Compared with conventional coal chemical industry, this model cuts coal consumption by two-thirds while enabling efficient utilization of green electricity and green hydrogen. The project adopts domestically developed oil‑methanol co‑refining technology to produce polyester fiber, supporting high‑value resource utilization in conjunction with Xinjiang’s textile industry. Multiple enterprises have participated in the joint construction, including China National Chemical Engineering Third Construction Co., Ltd. In alignment with national policies such as the West Hydrogen East Delivery pipeline initiative, the project will help upgrade Xinjiang’s wind and solar energy resources. It is expected to create nearly 2,000 jobs, serve as a model for Xinjiang’s green energy transition, and support national energy security and low‑carbon development.

[SMM Chrome Weekly Review: Weak Demand Performance, Market Remained in the Doldrums] News on April 3, 2026: The ferrochrome and chrome ore markets saw limited fluctuations...