Ouyang Minggao pointed out that large-scale mass production of all-solid-state batteries will still require 3–5 years, with test vehicles expected to appear by the end of 2026. Sulphide electrolyte has fallen from 20 million/mt to the million-level range. However, he stressed that the technical difficulty is extremely high and advised consumers that they “need not wait,” as LFP batteries remain the “ballast stone” at present.

The 2026 SMM (3rd) Global Renewable Metal Industry Chain Summit & Battery Recycling Forum will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from May 11–12, 2026. The summit aims to bring together leading global enterprises, research institutions, industry experts, and policymakers in the fields of renewable metals and battery recycling.

LG Energy Solution is expected to commercialize a higher-performance LFP battery next year, targeting the fast-growing energy storage market. The company's Chief Technology Officer, Kim Dong-myung, said the new-type battery has higher battery energy density and a longer lifespan, and will enter mass production in 2027. This is the first time LG Energy Solution has disclosed plans to introduce a significantly improved LFP battery. The move aims to reposition LFP technology from a low-cost path into a high-value energy storage solution. Kim Dong-myung said LFP was previously used mainly in low and mid-end EVs, but with surging data volumes, the market now needs higher-performance ESS batteries. LG Energy Solution's move reflects a broader shift in the global battery market.

At the start of the year, there was plenty of excitement around silver. The precious metal was soaring and reaching record highs along the way. However, it has declined from the highs it reached in January.

After a strong start, the price of gold slipped twice to around $5,060 during this trading week. Now, it appears that gold prices might manage to stay just above $5,100 heading into the weekend, continuing the persistent sideways movement of the past five weeks.

It was learned that the weekly composite operating rate of lead-acid battery enterprises across five provinces tracked by SMM stood at 73.45% from March 6 to March 12, 2026, up 1.78 percentage points WoW from the previous week. In March, major lead-acid battery enterprises basically resumed normal production. The last batch of enterprises that resumed work in early March also recently completed production ramp-up on their production lines, with operating rates of 80-100% at medium and large enterprises and 50-80% at small enterprises. At present, most orders for e-bike and automotive battery enterprises came from dealers' routine post-Chinese New Year restocking, but actual improvement in end-use market consumption remained limited. Among them, battery exports were affected by factors such as tariffs, the SHFE/LME price ratio, and transportation, and export-oriented enterprises saw weak order performance. In addition, orders for ESS battery enterprises were moderate, especially tender orders from data centers, and the production lines of such enterprises were operating at full capacity.

This week, prices for some Grade-B battery cells in the second-life battery market rose. Cost side, lithium carbonate prices fluctuated more sharply this week and showed an overall upward trend, directly pushing up battery cell production costs; nickel sulphate prices edged up, while cobalt sulphate prices remained stable, providing mild support on the cost side and lifting overall cost pressure somewhat. Supply side, the market was clearly boosted by energy storage demand, enterprises showed relatively strong willingness to sell, and circulating supply was steadily released; coupled with rising lithium carbonate prices, enterprises' expectations for higher costs strengthened, and overall pricing sentiment remained firm to slightly stronger. Demand side, demand for second-life Grade-B battery cells recovered significantly, mainly driven by the energy storage market, as downstream energy storage projects commenced and supporting demand continued to be released, noticeably boosting procurement enthusiasm.

Recently, end-use consumption in the lead-acid battery market remained relatively stable, with dealers basically purchasing as needed. Meanwhile, lead prices fluctuated downward, and some dealers were concerned that battery selling prices would follow the decline. In addition, as April to May is the traditional consumption off-season, dealers were also relatively cautious in procurement, and lead-acid battery enterprises produced based on sales. In terms of lead ingot procurement, spot cargo circulating in the lead market is currently relatively ample, and downstream enterprises purchased as needed. It was not until the second half of the week, when lead prices fell further, that some enterprises restocked at lower prices as needed, and trading activity in the spot market improved.

On March 10, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new-type grid-side ESS power station project in Yuncheng, Shanxi. Located in the Sci-Tech Innovation Demonstration Zone of the Hejin Economic and Technological Development Zone in Shanxi, the project adopts advanced LFP battery technology and will have a construction scale of 200 MW/400 MWh, making it a key supporting project for the new-type power system prioritized for development in Shanxi Province.

SMM News, Mar 13: This week, the recycling volume of waste lead-acid battery recyclers rebounded significantly WoW, with the recycling volume of some recyclers rising 40% from the initial stage of work resumption. However, affected by downstream consumption not yet having fully recovered and a relatively low volume of retired scrap battery, some enterprises still saw recycling volume that had not returned to pre-holiday levels. As secondary lead smelters resumed work at a relatively slow pace and demand for scrap battery had not yet surged, SMM expected the purchase prices of waste lead-acid battery to stabilize next week. Domestic secondary crude lead smelters posted a poor operating rate, with some enterprises suspending production due to environmental protection-related controls. Suppliers held firm offers, and the current mainstream ex-factory prices excluding tax stood at 15,250-15,400 yuan/mt. If containing some antimony and tin metals, ex-factory offers were at least 15,500 yuan/mt. At present, imported lead supply was ample, and suppliers had relatively weak bargaining power, giving downstream enterprises near ports a greater advantage in purchases. SMM expected domestic secondary crude lead supply to remain tight in the short term, with imports serving as the main supplement. » Subscribe to View Historical SMM Metal Spot Prices