As the mid-year period approaches, manufacturers are generally reluctant to build additional inventories and are instead consuming existing raw material stocks.

It is worth noting that with the gradual ramp-up of large cylindrical battery production, the share of 9-series materials is rising rapidly both domestically and internationally.

On June 6, Hanrui Cobalt disclosed that it plans to invest in the construction of the "Annual 40,000-Ton Electrolytic Nickel and 40,000-Ton Battery-Grade Nickel Sulfate Project" in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ganzhou Hanrui New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. The total investment for the project is 2,002.5278 million yuan, and the project funds will come from the company's own funds or self-raised funds. With the completion and operation of the company's nickel resource smelting base in Indonesia, raw materials for this investment project will in the future be partially supplied directly from the Indonesian base, achieving an ecological闭环 in the nickel industry chain from resources to materials.

Consumer battery cell manufacturers are generally adopting a wait-and-see attitude, expecting further declines in raw material prices. A few manufacturers have made small-batch restocking purchases, while most are waiting for prices to drop further.

U.S. startup Bridge Green Upcycle has recently opened a lithium-ion battery critical mineral recovery plant in Chennai with an annual processing capacity of 7,200 tonnes. Located in Gummidipoondi, the facility can process end-of-life batteries and manufacturing scrap, recovering key materials including lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper, and graphite. The company plans to invest between INR 5 billion and INR 10 billion over the next five years, with the current plant expected to reach full capacity by the end of this year. In the next phase, Bridge Green will expand into the production of battery-grade salts—such as lithium carbonate, nickel sulfate, and cobalt sulfate—with commissioning targeted by 2028. The expansion will also include a second-life battery facility.

On the demand side, the EV market saw strong overall orders and fast production pace in May, with some leading manufacturers achieving significant output growth.

This week, ternary cathode material prices declined. On the raw material front, nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate showed slight downward movements, manganese sulfate edged up, while lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide saw significant pullbacks. In terms of transaction sentiment, after a month of sustained increases, the price correction for ternary cathode materials created pricing opportunities for manufacturers, and some battery cell manufacturers carried out restocking . On payables, the overall EV market continued to maintain existing payable levels , and June payables are expected to remain stable. On the consumer market front, due to relatively high spot contract transaction volumes and significant price volatility, some manufacturers expect upward adjustments to nickel sulfate payables in cathode materials next month . This is mainly driven by persistently high nickel sulfate production costs, upstream producers pushing prices higher due to cost pressures, with prices gradually transmitting downstream . On the demand side, the domestic EV market is currently in a phase of concentrated stockpiling for new models, with orders rebounding notably. The overseas market is also strong, driven by robust European vehicle sales and stockpiling for new product launches by some brands, collectively boosting orders for domestic cathode manufacturers. Overall demand in the consumer market remains relatively subdued, more reflected as need-based restocking by manufacturers. Overall, the ternary market is expected to maintain relatively high demand levels in June .

The domestic EV market is currently in a phase of concentrated stockpiling for new models, with orders rebounding notably.

The recent concentrated launch of new vehicle models has generated stocking demand, with downstream battery cell manufacturers holding positive expectations for future orders and relatively active pick-ups, boosting cathode manufacturers' production schedules.

The domestic EV market has seen a significant increase in orders, driven by the concentrated launch of new vehicle models.