ChinaIOL data shows that in June 2026, China’s household air conditioner production totaled 17.76 million units, down 5.4% YoY; sales reached 18.195 million units, down 7.3% YoY. Of which, exports were 6.794 million units, down 7.1% YoY; domestic sales were 11.402 million units, down 7.4% YoY. According to the data, the market remains on a downward trajectory, but the overall decline is narrowing, and both domestic sales and exports are showing signs of recovery. Domestic Sales Market: Boosted by the 618 Shopping Festival, Downward Trend Narrows In the domestic sales market, the decline in household air conditioner shipments noticeably narrowed in June, mainly boosted by the 618 shopping festival, which helped destock online inventory and prompted some restocking among enterprises. However, terminal market performance during 618 still fell short of previous years. On the cost side, prices remained high and fluctuated, while end-user prices were still locked in fierce competition. Sales of mid- to high-end products have declined to some extent this year, the overall price structure of the market has been shifting downward, and enterprise profitability is facing considerable pressure. With June ending, some listed home appliance companies are about to release semi-annual reports, and driven by the pressure of financial reporting, enterprises are likely to sell more aggressively in June in an effort to give a good account to the market. Cumulative domestic sales in January–June reached 62.822 million units, down 5.6% YoY. As the data indicates, the overall domestic sales market in H1 remained under pressure, coming from persistently high costs and inventories on the one hand, and from the phasing out of state subsidies and diminishing marginal returns on the other. Consumers who have been ‘educated’ by low prices now have longer and more cautious purchasing cycles, which feeds back into the market as price involution across the industry. In such an environment, the industry is undergoing a new wave of reshuffling, and enterprises without orders or with poor profitability will be eliminated from the market. Export Market: Decline Narrowing in Sync, Localized Heatwaves Facilitate Destocking In the export market, although some regional markets have seen a partial recovery, exports still fell 7.1% YoY and 10.4% MoM. The dual decline was mainly due to some regions entering the off-season, coupled with accumulated inventory pressure, making overseas dealers less willing to restock. As high temperatures overseas gradually subside, market sales will slowly taper off, and the export scale is expected to return to around 5 million units by July. This is also part of the seasonal structural changes in household air conditioners; as the export off-season sets in, the focus will gradually shift back to the domestic sales market. Cumulative exports in January–June reached 52.703 million units, down 6.8% YoY. In H1 this year, the household air conditioner export market exhibited regional divergence and uneven recovery, with climate, inventory, economic, and policy cycle mismatches being the core influencing factors, while aftershocks of geopolitical conflicts and differing national policies further amplified market uncertainty. In addition, climate trends, inventory cycles, the pace of economic recovery, and changes in trade and energy efficiency policies in core countries vary across regions. Taking Europe as an example, the booming Western European market contrasts with the sluggish Eastern European market. Moreover, the data does not fully represent the overall market picture, and the characteristics of different markets need to be considered. The Western European market is dominated by rental housing, and coupled with local installation policy restrictions, extreme heat has boosted sales of portable air conditioners. In addition, market expectations regarding the weather are also driving growth. However, structural divergence remains pronounced. According to ChinaIOL, the inventory of split-type air conditioners in the Western European market is still saturated, and installation difficulties and environmental protection restrictions have been constraining the growth of split-type units.

It is reported that Daye Nonferrous Metals has launched a public online auction for a batch of tellurium ingots today. Relevant details are as follows: Lot details: Tellurium ingots with 99.98% purity, totaling approximately 175 kilograms; Starting bid price: 700 yuan per kilogram; Public notice and bidding period: 15:00 July 17, 2026 – 15:00 July 21, 2026.

This week, the operating rate of leading aluminum downstream processors in China recorded 61.3%, down 0.6 percentage points WoW.

If you have looked at the car sales charts over the past two years, you would have noticed a striking change: the once-dominant joint-venture internal combustion engine vehicles are being replaced by a string of unfamiliar domestic NEV names. In April this year, the domestic retail penetration rate of passenger NEVs surpassed the 60% mark for the first time. Against the backdrop that over 6 out of every 10 new cars sold are now electrified, the shift from ICE vehicles to NEVs is likely becoming the broader industry trend. But behind the excitement, ordinary people are more confused: with prices falling again and again, is it that technology has lost its value, or is competition just too fierce? With all the talk of "smart driving" and "800V", which features are truly practical and which are gimmicks? To answer these questions, you don't need to understand complex battery chemistry formulas, nor do you need to study financial reports. We just need to refocus on three fundamental industry logics. Once these three points are clarified, the broad trend will become clear. Logic 1: Why Cars Must Be Electrified Many people attribute the widespread adoption of NEVs to "policy subsidies" or "license plate advantages". These did indeed provide an early boost to the industry, but now, the more fundamental reason is a dual drive from energy security and experience upgrades. From a national perspective, China's dependence on foreign oil has long exceeded 70%, while electricity comes from diverse sources (coal, hydropower, wind, solar, nuclear). Replacing imported oil with self-sufficient electricity is a strategic choice for a mature industrial power. Therefore, electrification is not a passing fad but a set direction spanning decades. In terms of user experience, electric drive delivers a level of smoothness, quietness, and instant response that internal combustion engine vehicles in the same price range struggle to match. This experiential gap, rooted in the drivetrain, means that many people find it hard to go back to driving an ICE vehicle once they have driven an NEV. So, electrification is no longer a question of "whether or not", but rather "how fast versus how slow". Logic 2: Why Are Cars Getting Cheaper? People often ask: "Do these price cuts mean quality is being compromised?" But in reality, the decline in prices is essentially a natural outcome of the industry chain's maturity. The main reasons include the following: Raw material price normalization: Spot lithium carbonate prices fell from a peak of nearly 600,000 yuan per mt in 2022 to around 150,000 yuan per mt currently, directly contributing to lower battery costs; Process innovation: The popularization of integrated die-casting has reduced auto body manufacturing time by over 50%; Economies of scale: Annual sales of passenger NEVs in China have already reached the 10-million-unit level, significantly diluting the high R&D costs. Just like LCD TVs, which fell from tens of thousands to thousands, not because quality worsened but because the industry mastered large-scale manufacturing. A pragmatic judgment is that the era of buying a good car at a bargain price has indeed begun. From the current industry situation, producers are locked in fierce competition, and for consumers who are about to buy a new car, whether to seize the opportunity to "take advantage" of NEVs should depend on their own driving radius. Logic 3: Why All the Talk About "Intelligence"? Electrification first answers the question of "where does the power come from", but intelligence redefines the "user experience". This is the most fundamental difference between NEVs and internal combustion engine vehicles. The core value of traditional ICE vehicles—engine, transmission, chassis—is set at the factory (except for hardware modifications) with little room for subsequent changes. Today's smart NEVs, however, are shifting their core value toward software and data iteration . After purchase, the car can be upgraded over the network to optimize driving range logic, improve driver assistance, and even change the entire in-car interface—something unimaginable before. As for driver assistance, the situation in 2026 is already quite clear. The penetration rate of Level 2 driver assistance in NEVs exceeds 50%, and the installation rate for Level 2+ has risen to nearly 30%. Driver assistance has become a standard feature in NEVs. In specific scenarios: Highway NOA is already very mature. In the 100,000-150,000 yuan price range, there are over 70 models equipped with highway pilot assist, and some mainstream brands have completed multiple rounds of OTA upgrades. After setting a destination on the highway, the system can autonomously change lanes, overtake, and navigate on/off ramps, and this experience is now quite stable. Urban NOA has also been rapidly rolling out over the past two years. A few years ago, it was only available on models priced above 300,000 yuan, but now, some NEV model in the 140,000-yuan range can run urban NOA. One brand has even equipped an 110,000-yuan model with urban NOA. To be honest, though urban NOA is rapidly popularizing, the actual number of users isn't as high as one might think. Data shows that the activation rate for urban NOA is less than 30%—many people have the feature in their cars but rarely use it daily. On one hand, urban road conditions are indeed complex, and the system occasionally still hesitates or requires human takeover; on the other hand, it shows that there is still some way to go from "having this feature" to "truly integrating it into everyday driving scenarios." Here's a car-buying tip: test how responsive the infotainment system is, whether it can handle multiple tasks simultaneously, how accurate the navigation is, and how well the voice recognition understands natural speech. These fundamental experiences that you'll use every day are the key factors in determining whether the car is "worth it" for you. Summary Looking back at these three logics: Automotive electrification is driven by energy structure and physical experience, making it an irresistible trend. Price declines are a natural outcome of industry maturity, so we should treat them rationally. Intelligence is the major direction of value shift, but we need to distinguish between what already delivers qualitative improvements to the driving and riding experience now and what still needs time to mature. Technology is still advancing, and the market is still changing. But by returning to your true needs—how convenient is charging, how many kilometers do you commute daily, what is your car purchase budget—the answer is often clearer than you think. SMM New Energy Research, Lithium Battery End-User Analyst, Fu Linqi 021-51558494

This week, spot lithium carbonate prices continued to drift lower, with the price center moving further down to around the 150,000 yuan/mt level. The futures market consolidated on a subdued note, with the most-traded 2609 contract fluctuating from an initial range of 147,800-153,600 yuan/mt early in the week to 145,900-152,500 yuan/mt, hitting a mid-week low of 145,900 yuan/mt—a fresh recent low. Open interest first declined then rose, as the tug-of-war between longs and shorts persisted. Market trading showed a standoff pattern of “downstream dip-buying while upstream held back from selling,” with actual transactions relatively active. Upstream lithium chemical plants showed extremely low willingness to sell amid the rapid price decline, with sentiment toward holding back from selling intensifying. Some spot order quotes were still maintained above 160,000 yuan/mt, as a clear intent to hold prices firm emerged. Downstream material plants showed fairly active buying sentiment below 150,000 yuan/mt, but large-scale concentrated restocking had yet to appear, and purchasing behavior remained cautious, mainly driven by rigid demand. Overall, market inquiries and actual transactions continued to be relatively active, but the psychological price gap between upstream and downstream persisted. On the supply side, production kept falling, and inventory differentiation across the industry chain continued. Lithium carbonate production declined further this week, mainly due to some lithium chemical plants entering maintenance as planned, leading to a noticeable reduction in spodumene-based output. From the perspective of inventory changes: upstream lithium chemical plants saw slight in-factory inventory buildup due to extremely low willingness to sell and holding back from selling; downstream material plants’ purchase willingness recovered somewhat WoW, but purchasing was cautious due to the still-rapid downward trajectory of prices, resulting in a modest overall inventory buildup; trader inventories destocked more significantly, as downstream procurement improved marginally, compounded by plants’ holding back from selling and traders’ own capital pressures. Looking ahead, short-term lithium carbonate prices may continue to consolidate on a subdued note, but downside below 150,000 yuan/mt is limited. On the supply side, ongoing maintenance at some lithium chemical plants and shrinking production are providing some floor support to prices. However, on the demand side, downstream purchases remain cautious and rigid-demand-oriented, lacking a large-scale concentrated restocking driver, so prices lack upward momentum. The core contradiction in the current market is: below 150,000 yuan/mt, downstream purchase willingness strengthens, providing a floor for prices; but upstream holding prices firm and holding back from selling coexists with cautious downstream buying, leaving prices lacking sustained rebound momentum. It is expected that lithium prices will consolidate in the range of 145,000-160,000 yuan/mt in the near term. It is recommended to focus on the defense of the psychological 150,000 yuan/mt level, changes in downstream restocking pace, and the progress of maintenance recovery at lithium chemical plants.

SMM, July 16 – Hunan Yuneng, a leading LFP producer, sent a price adjustment notice to its clients. Hunan Yuneng stated that since March 2026, affected by multiple factors including global geopolitical fluctuations and supply chain circulation disruptions, core raw material prices for LFP such as sulphur, phosphoric acid, and ferrous sulphate have continued to rise. Iron phosphate prices have surged from about 10,000 yuan/mt at the start of the year to 15,000 yuan/mt, an increase of over 50%. Moreover, iron phosphate now accounts for over 70% of the LFP processing fees. Rising costs have continuously squeezed profit margins in the production and manufacturing sector, creating significant pressure on the company’s operations, production, and capital turnover. Meanwhile, demand from downstream NEV and energy storage markets has been growing steadily and continuously, while the supply of high-quality, effective industry capacity remains persistently tight. Since July, the industry operating rate has reached as high as 90%, with high-end capacity being particularly tight. After its maintenance, Hunan Yuneng has been running at full capacity this year, and its newly added capacity this year can no longer meet the order growth demands of all clients. The company has decided that starting August 1, 2026, the processing fees for all LFP products will be uniformly raised by 2,000 yuan/mt. Data shows that the monthly average price of LFP in June 2026 was 61,113.33 yuan/mt, up 19.34% from the 51,209.52 yuan/mt average at the beginning of this year, and compared to the 33,802.08 yuan/mt average in the same period last year, up over 80% YoY. From the demand side, lithium battery shipments maintain a high-growth trajectory, underpinning the high operating rates of LFP enterprises. Some institutions forecast that overall lithium battery shipments will maintain around 45% growth in 2026, and industry volume is expected to reach 3 TWh in 2027, with the growth pace ahead of earlier projections. Industry growth is jointly supported by the power battery and ESS battery segments. Among these, the energy storage sector shows more prominent growth elasticity： ESS battery shipments are expected to increase by over 60% YoY in 2026, with annual shipments approaching 1 TWh, and its share of total lithium battery shipments exceeding 38%. This share is projected to rise further above 40% in 2027 and approach 50% in 2028.

[SMM Lithium Battery] Hunan Yuneng stated that since March 2026, affected by multiple factors including global geopolitical fluctuations and supply chain circulation disruptions, core raw material prices for LFP such as sulphur, phosphoric acid, and ferrous sulphate have continued to rise. Iron phosphate prices have surged from about 10,000 yuan/mt at the start of the year to 15,000 yuan/mt, an increase of over 50%.

Capacity side, based on incomplete statistics, China's alkaline electrolyzer market stands at 43.77 GW, while the PEM electrolyzer market stands at 2.7 GW. Trina Green Hydrogen has completed the loading of two containerized integrated hydrogen production and refueling products, which will be shipped to Europe for use in a local integrated hydrogen production and refueling station demonstration project. The 100 Nm³ products shipped this time feature in-house developed alkaline electrolyzers at their core, adopt a containerized integration solution, and integrate full units including electrolytic hydrogen production, gas-liquid separation, and deep purification. Project Related Updates: Ordos Weiner Green Energy Logistics Co., Ltd.: The green logistics and hydrogen-electricity integrated hydrogen production and refueling project of Ordos Weiner Green Energy Logistics has obtained filing approval. The project is located in Dalaqi Banner Three Gorges Industrial Park, with a total investment of 63.1638 million yuan. It plans to build one 6 mt hydrogen refueling station, along with one 6,000 Nm³/h PSA physical hydrogen purification unit. The construction period is from August 2026 to August 2027. Wojiang Clean Energy (Xinjiang Zhundong Economic and Technological Development Zone) Co., Ltd.: Xinjiang Xinye State-owned Assets Management (Group) Co., Ltd. has issued negotiation and procurement announcements for the water electrolysis hydrogen production unit of its Zhundong 2 billion m³/year coal-to-natural gas project, officially launching the tender for 15,000 Nm³/h-scale water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment, aiming to build a large-scale green hydrogen and low-carbon demonstration project for Xinjiang's coal chemical industry. The project is located in the Zhundong Economic and Technological Development Zone, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. Using coal as feedstock, it adopts mainstream coal chemical processes including fixed-bed crushed coal pressurized gasification, shift conversion, acid gas removal, and methanation, with planned annual output of 2 billion m³ of coal-to-natural gas, along with co-production of multiple chemical products such as naphtha, crude phenol, sulfur, liquid CO₂, liquid ammonia, green methanol, sodium chloride, and mirabilite. The water electrolysis hydrogen production unit under this tender is a low-carbon core supporting unit of the project, with a hydrogen production capacity of 15,000 Nm³/h. Baowu Clean Energy (Yangjiang) Co., Ltd.: The Baowu Clean Energy Yangjiang Green Energy Industrial Base (Green Hydrogen Production Site) project has completed filing. The project is developed by Baowu Clean Energy (Yangjiang) Co., Ltd., located on Fengtou Island in Yangxi County High-tech Zone, Yangjiang City. With a total investment of 5.2 billion yuan, it covers an area of 233,100 m² and has a building area of 110,000 m². It plans to construct eight factory buildings, supported by green hydrogen production workshops, material areas, and office areas. The project will use offshore wind power directly connected to water electrolysis to produce green hydrogen. Upon completion, it is expected to produce about 80,000 mt of green hydrogen annually, with an annual output value of 840 million yuan. Construction is planned to start on December 1, 2027 and be completed on June 1, 2029. Shanghai Electric Luyuan Technology (Jilin) Co., Ltd. : The Baicheng Taonan green hydrogen coupled with biomass green alcohol-oil integration new project has completed filing. The project has a total investment of 2.8647 billion yuan, covers an area of approximately 366,500 m², and plans to produce 208,300 mt of green methanol and 10,000 mt of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) annually. It plans to build core units such as biomass gasification, water electrolysis hydrogen production, methanol synthesis and distillation, and SAF production, with simultaneous construction of supporting utilities including water treatment, power distribution, and site office facilities. The project plans to start construction in August 2026 and be completed in December 2028. Inner Mongolia Hydrogen Power Technology Co., Ltd. : The Inner Mongolia Hydrogen Power Technology Dalad Banner grid-side standalone ESS demonstration project has commenced in the Dalad Economic Development Zone. With a total investment of 150 million yuan, it covers an area of 42 mu and has an energy storage capacity of 2 MW/4 MWh. It adopts a pure hydrogen energy storage route, equipped with 12 sets of 1,000 m³ alkaline electrolyzers, 2 sets of 1 MW hydrogen fuel cells, and 90,000 m³ hydrogen storage units, establishing an integrated industry chain of hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, and hydrogen power generation. Diaobingshan Huadian Clean Energy Co., Ltd.: The Liaoning Huadian Diaobingshan 450,000 kW wind power-to-hydrogen coupled green methanol integration demonstration project has reached an important construction period, with the first batch of main steel structure columns successfully lifted into place, marking the official transition from civil works to the critical steel structure installation phase and an overall acceleration of construction progress. The project is a key new energy demonstration project in Liaoning Province, with a total installed capacity of 450,000 kW. Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical Co., Ltd. : Shuangliang Hydrogen secured an order from Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical for four 3000 Nm³/h alkaline electrolyzers. This project is the supporting hydrogen production unit for the first phase of the second stage of Yulin Chemical's 15 million mt/year coal graded conversion demonstration project. The total supporting hydrogen production scale is 12,000 Nm³/h of hydrogen and 6,000 Nm³/h of oxygen. The unit will serve coal-to-methanol, methanol-to-olefins, and downstream deep processing production. Da'an Jidian Green Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd. : SPIC Green Energy announced the bid candidates for Section D20-01 of its 20th batch of centralized new energy tenders in 2026. This section involves the procurement of an additional 1,000 Nm³/h alkaline electrolysis hydrogen production equipment for the Da'an wind and solar-based green hydrogen-to-synthetic ammonia integrated demonstration project. The first-ranked candidate is Jiangsu Trina Green Hydrogen Technology Co., Ltd., with a bid price of 4.5251 million yuan (tax excluded). The project is located in Liangjiazi Town, Da'an City, Baicheng, Jilin Province. The overall annual hydrogen production is 32,000 mt, and the annual synthetic ammonia output is 180,000 mt, alongside supporting air separation units and hydrogen storage facilities. Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Xin Energy Co., Ltd. : Candidates for the design procurement for the Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Xin wind power-hydrogen-storage integrated demonstration project were publicly announced. The top three candidate units and their tax-excluded quotes are: North Engineering Design & Research Institute (778,000 yuan), Hubei Electric Power Planning and Design Institute (805,800 yuan), and PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation (809,300 yuan). This demonstration project simultaneously deploys two electrolytic hydrogen production routes, configured with 1,000 Nm³/h alkaline water electrolysis and 500 Nm³/h PEM hydrogen production units, complemented by 20 m³, 1.5 MPa gaseous hydrogen storage tanks. It rents a 100 kg solid-state hydrogen storage system for technical verification, and concurrently builds a full set of supporting utilities including power supply, control, and nitrogen production. PipeChina Group: The first domestic field test for the sequential transportation of fuel methanol via a long-distance refined oil pipeline, led and implemented by PipeChina Group, was successfully concluded in Xianyang, Shaanxi. This marks a key breakthrough for China's methanol sequential transportation technology in refined oil pipelines, moving from theoretical research to engineering practice verification. Policy Review 1. The National Energy Administration issued the Energy Sector Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction Action Plan (2026-2028). The document notes to accelerate the energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation of coal mine equipment and facilities, promoting energy-saving technologies such as intelligent variable frequency speed control and energy consumption monitoring in large-load electromechanical equipment. It promotes the new energy replacement of mining area transportation equipment, applying electric and hydrogen fuel cell mining trucks on a large scale in suitable open-pit coal mines, and gradually implementing electric trackless rubber-tyred vehicles in underground coal mines based on transportation methods. 2. The State Council issued a notice on the 15th Five-Year Plan for Peaking Carbon Emissions Action Plan. The document notes to vigorously promote non-fossil energy development. It adheres to the simultaneous development of wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, and other energy sources, developing new energy with greater intensity, coordinating development layout, consumption, and utilization, and expanding the effective supply of non-fossil energy. It proposes building clean energy bases including wind and solar PV in the Three-North region, integrated hydro, wind and solar energy in Southwest China, coastal nuclear power, and offshore wind power, actively developing distributed PV and dispersed wind power, promoting the large-scale development of solar thermal and ocean energy power generation, utilizing biomass and geothermal energy according to local conditions, and arranging the construction of integrated bases for wind, solar, hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol. 3. The Shandong Provincial Energy Bureau issued the Notice on Strengthening and Regulating the Development of Green Electricity Direct Connection. The document states to support distributed PV to participate in multi-user green electricity direct connection through centralized confluence. It strengthens source-load matching. The project's overall annual self-generated and self-consumed new energy electricity accounts for no less than 60% of the total available power generation and no less than 30% of total electricity consumption, reaching no less than 35% before 2030. The proportion of grid-connected electricity to total available power generation is capped at no more than 20%, and reverse power transmission to the public power grid is prohibited during grid new energy curtailment periods. For green electricity direct connection projects such as offshore wind power connecting to offshore oil and gas platforms, hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol production, and computing power facilities, the proportion of grid-connected electricity can be relaxed to 40%. New energy curtailment from green electricity direct connection projects is excluded from new energy utilization rate statistics. Projects are encouraged to reduce system regulation pressure through means such as rationally configuring energy storage and tapping into flexible load adjustment potential. Enterprise News Beiben Heavy-Duty Truck Group Co., Ltd. : The "Open Bidding for Major Technical Challenges" special project, led by Beiben Heavy-Duty Truck in collaboration with Shanghai Reinventing Energy Technology Co., Ltd., which formed an innovation consortium for coordinated tackling of key problems, achieved a major outcome—a 300 kW large power hydrogen fuel cell tractor officially rolled off the production line and successfully completed the declaration for the national motor vehicle product announcement. Wuhan Huagong Laser Engineering Co., Ltd. : China's first fully automated turnkey production line for gigawatt-level alkaline electrolyzers exported overseas was successfully shipped, achieving a benchmark batch-scale overseas delivery for the industry. China Hydrogen Energy Group Co., Ltd. : It fully authorized Xinersheng Machinery (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. to implement the production task for the full range of intelligent unmanned vehicle equipment, engaging in the large-scale batch production of hydrogen-powered, battery-powered, and other powertrain-based unmanned intelligent driving vehicles. Tianji Hydrogen Energy Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. : It officially launched two major new product series, the HIS Integrated Hydrogen Refueling Station and the HES Hydrogen-Electric Energy System, simultaneously deploying technology routes across ALK, PEM, and AEM. Guangdong Yuntao Hydrogen Technology Co., Ltd. : Yuntao Hydrogen and Kaiping Public Utility Group successfully held a signing ceremony for a strategic cooperation in the hydrogen energy industry. This signing represents a key cooperative project for Kaiping City to advance its green and low-carbon industrial layout and implement the transformation and upgrading of its energy structure. Suzhou Suqing Hydrogen Equipment Co., Ltd.: To provide a rapid replacement of electrolyzers for global automotive glass leader Fuyao Glass, Suzhou Suqing Hydrogen Equipment Co., Ltd. completed the full process of production, assembly, and air tightness testing for the electrolyzer in just 60 days, delivering the equipment on schedule. Cockerill Jingli (Suzhou) Hydrogen Technology Co., Ltd. : Dutch hydrogen developer Power2X made its final investment decision and issued a notice to proceed for the 20 MW Djewels green hydrogen project. Located in Delfzijl, Groningen, Netherlands, the project will utilize John Cockerill's innovative pressurized alkaline electrolysis water hydrogen production equipment and is expected to start production in mid-2028. Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone PetroChina Fuel Oil Co., Ltd. : The methanol bunkering vessel Jiachen 17 completed a bunkering operation at the Zhoushan Tsuneishi Shipyard berth, refueling a Maersk methanol dual-fuel container ship with 795 mt of methanol over 5.5 hours. Patent Filings 1. Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) published patent CN2025110028, developing a ceramic-based anion exchange membrane with a lab-tested lifespan of 80,000 hours. 2. Johnson Matthey (UK) submitted patent WO2025109876, disclosing a Fe-Ni-Mo ternary non-precious metal catalyst formulation with activity approaching that of platinum-based materials. Technology Footprints/Technical Specifications 1. The latest research achievement by the team of Professor Hu Wenbin from Tianjin University was published online in Science, a top international academic journal. The study overcame the key challenge of precise preparation of platinum group catalysts, opening up a completely new technical path for atomically precise preparation of platinum group catalysts. 2. The team of Tong Lei and Liang Haiwei from the University of Science and Technology of China, together with Zhang Liang from Tsinghua University, proposed a Carbon Mesopore Depth Engineering (CMDE) strategy. By leveraging hollow mesoporous carbon spheres to regulate ionomer penetration depth, they resolved the inherent conflict between kinetic activity and oxygen mass transfer in low-platinum fuel cells, developing a PtCo low-platinum catalyst that combines poisoning resistance, high mass transfer, and excellent durability, meeting the US DOE's power, activity, and durability targets at an ultra-low platinum loading of 0.1 mgPt cm⁻². 3. The team of Professor Li Zhipeng from Northwestern Polytechnical University innovatively constructed a three-dimensional multi-physics field coupled model for tubular solid oxide fuel cells, systematically revealing the quantitative influence laws of temperature, electrode thickness, porosity, and oxygen domain geometric parameters on cell output performance. 4. The National Hydrogen Power Quality Inspection and Testing Center of China Automotive Research Institute completed and opened for commercial use a 0-400 kW hydrogen-related, load-carrying, three-axis integrated vibration testing platform, filling the gap in high-power, hydrogen-related multi-physics field coupled testing in China. 5. The high specific power cathode closed-loop air-cooled stack technology developed by the team of Academician Zhongwei Chen and Associate Researcher Meng Zhang from the State Key Laboratory of Energy Catalysis and 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 addresses the industry contradiction between water retention and oxygen mass transfer in air-cooled fuel cells, solving technical challenges such as low-humidity performance degradation, carbon corrosion, dry membrane water flooding, and high-power thermal management.

[SMM Analysis] Billet Export Growth Remains Strong, UAE Drop Hits New Low By Product Billet continued its rapid growth, while hot-rolled coil remained the product with the steepest decline. In January-May 2026, China's cumulative billet exports reached 6.76 million mt (vs. 4.72 million mt a year ago), surging by 2.04 million mt, maintaining robust growth momentum. This was mainly driven by phased supply-demand mismatches in overseas supply chains and the subsequent effects of aggressive global buyer inquiries to China, especially the marginal support from procurement sentiment in markets such as Southeast Asia. In contrast, hot-rolled coil exports plummeted to 7.21 million mt from 10.51 million mt in the same period last year, a decrease of 3.3 million mt, closely linked to the implementation of overseas anti-dumping policies on hot-rolled coil and a high base effect. Source: SMM, General Administration of Customs By Country Singapore replaced Djibouti at the top of the growth list. Its product mix chart clearly shows that bars (61%) and wire rod (12%) were the absolute mainstays, together accounting for 73% of the total. As a global shipping and trade settlement hub, Singapore's significant growth was mainly due to intra-ASEAN and cross-border Chinese-invested construction projects undergoing concentrated procurement and trade settlement there, providing strong support for China's exports of bar, wire rod, and related infrastructure finished products. Conversely, on the top decliner list were the UAE (down 1.18 million mt), Brazil (down 850,000 mt), Vietnam (down 780,000 mt), and Saudi Arabia (down 570,000 mt), largely a direct result of geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and regional trade barrier policies. Source: SMM, General Administration of Customs Outlook Based on SMM's latest steel export order data, with the ongoing US-Iran conflict causing uncertainty, Middle Eastern buyers are expected to remain relatively cautious in procurement. As the price advantage of Chinese exports over other markets continues to narrow, overall export order volumes are unlikely to see significant improvement. However, considering the noticeable decline in sheet product transactions last week, a slight recovery is possible in the short term. 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"), which legally owns the full copyright and related intellectual property rights. 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, and any other information) is protected by copyright, trademark rights, domain name rights, commercial data information rights, and other related intellectual property rights, all of which are owned or held by SMM or its relevant rights holders. The above rights are strictly protected by the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, other relevant laws and regulations, and applicable international treaties. Without prior written authorization from SMM, no organization or individual may: 1. Use all or part of this report in any form (including but not limited to reproduction, modification, sale, transfer, display, translation, compilation, and dissemination); 2. Disclose the contents of this report to any third party; 3. Grant or authorize any third party to use the contents of this report. 4. For any unauthorized use, SMM will pursue legal liability against the infringer in accordance with the law, requiring them to bear legal liabilities including but not limited to contractual breach liability, restitution of unjust enrichment, and compensation for direct and indirect economic losses. Data Source Statement: (In this report, data other than publicly available information are all derived from public information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, enterprise financial reports, broker reports, NBS data, customs import and export data, and various data published by major industry associations and institutions), market communication, and are produced based on SMM’s internal database model through comprehensive analysis and reasonable inference by the research team, and are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making advice.) SMM reserves the right of final interpretation of these statement terms and retains the right to adjust and amend the content of this statement as circumstances may require.

Ganfeng Lithium announced on July 14 that it expects its net profit attributable to shareholders of the publicly listed firm for the first half of 2026 to be between 3.65 billion yuan and 4.6 billion yuan, representing a YoY turnaround to profitability. During the reporting period, benefiting from the rapid development of the global new energy industry and rising demand for lithium chemicals from downstream clients, the selling prices of the company's lithium chemical products rose significantly YoY. Meanwhile, with the gradual release of capacity from lithium resource projects, the company's cost structure was effectively optimized. Coupled with sustained growth in energy storage market demand, the lithium battery segment's production and sales volumes increased noticeably, together driving a YoY increase in the company's operating performance.