This week, China’s domestic manganese-based battery materials market has shown a differentiated operation trend. The price of battery-grade manganese tetroxide has slightly declined, the price of electrolytic manganese dioxide has slightly increased, and lithium manganate has maintained a weak balance of supply and demand.

This week, China's manganese-based battery materials market showed a differentiated operating trend: battery-grade Mn3O4 prices dropped back slightly, EMD prices edged up slightly, and LMO remained in a weak balance amid the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers. Although the three major products showed different trends, all were supported by the cost side. Overall, the market was mainly stable in the short term, with limited room for wild swings, as the industry gradually transitioned from the post-holiday resumption period to a phase of steady operations......

This week (March 6–12), the operating rate of SMM copper wire and cable enterprises was 66.59, up 5.69 points MoM and down 10.62 points YoY. The operating rate steadily rebounded this week, mainly due to a slight correction in copper prices that drove order release, coupled with support from concentrated power grid deliveries, though the current pace of order recovery remained weaker than in the same period last year. By sector, orders from the power segment continued to support enterprise production schedules, orders from the new energy segment also improved, while construction project orders remained weak, dragging on overall operating rates. Inventory side, the correction in copper prices drove enterprises to restock for rigid demand, but as enterprises maintained production schedules, days of raw material inventories fell 0.31 days MoM this week; for finished product inventories, the correction in copper prices boosted downstream consumption, but high copper prices still restrained end-user purchase willingness, so days of finished product inventories fell 0.41 days MoM. Looking ahead to next week, current orders on hand from the power and new energy sectors will continue to provide the main support for production scheduling. SMM expects the operating rate of copper wire and cable next week (March 13–19) to increase 3.45 points MoM to 70.04, down 4.49 points YoY.

Recently, Dr. Du from US Plug Power, a globally leading provider of hydrogen energy solutions, and his delegation visited Suzhou Xinsichuang Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd. for exchanges. The two sides held in-depth discussions on hydrogen technology R&D, industry ecosystem development, and global market positioning, laying a foundation for subsequent cross-border collaborative cooperation. As a pioneer in the hydrogen fuel cell industry, Plug Power has cultivated the hydrogen energy sector for many years and is committed to building an entire industry chain ecosystem covering green hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and terminal power generation. Its business is extensively deployed across diverse scenarios such as material handling, stationary power supply, and on-road EVs, making it a benchmark enterprise in the development of the global green hydrogen industry. During the field trip, Dr. Du and his delegation visited Xinsichuang’s production workshop and gained a detailed understanding of the company’s hydrogen equipment manufacturing capabilities and latest progress in technology R&D. At present, Xinsichuang is accelerating its transformation from a hydrogen equipment manufacturer into a **comprehensive green electricity and green fuels service provider**. Leveraging its core technological advantages in hydrogen production equipment, the company is making every effort to connect the entire chain of the hydrogen industry from the manufacturing end to the supply end and build differentiated competitive advantages. During the discussion session, General Manager Zeng of Xinsichuang highlighted the company’s project deployment and implementation in Hainan, Indonesia, the Middle East, and other regions, as well as the progress of exporting its hydrogen equipment technologies to Japan, Singapore, Europe, and other countries and regions. Dr. Du expressed strong interest in Xinsichuang’s strategic transformation direction and pace of global expansion. The two sides conducted thorough exchanges on topics including collaborative technological innovation and jointly building a global hydrogen energy ecosystem, and reached multiple cooperation consensuses. As the global energy transition continues to accelerate, the hydrogen energy industry has moved from the technology validation stage into a window period for large-scale application. Xinsichuang stated that in the future, it will continue to uphold an open and cooperative philosophy, deepen exchanges and collaboration with leading global hydrogen energy enterprises, steadily advance project implementation in China and overseas, bring high-quality green energy solutions to broader markets, and contribute to the high-quality development of the global hydrogen energy industry.

Recently, Donghua Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. (Donghua Technology) released a major contract announcement. On March 5, 2026, in Hefei, Anhui province, the company formally signed an EPC general contracting agreement for Phase I, Stage 1 Green Ammonia Works of the 800,000-mt/year wind and solar power hydrogen-ammonia integration project with Renewable Green Hydrogen Energy (Inner Mongolia) Co., Ltd. (“Renewable Green Hydrogen”), supporting the scaled implementation of Inner Mongolia’s green hydrogen and green ammonia industry. I. Core Project Overview The project signed this time is the first-phase works of the 800,000-mt/year wind and solar power hydrogen-ammonia integration project. The plant’s design capacity is **200,000 mt/year of green ammonia**. The scope of construction covers a complete supporting system including newly built process production units, storage and transportation units, auxiliary facilities, utilities, and front-of-plant living facilities. Relying on wind and solar power renewable energy to produce hydrogen and synthesize green ammonia, it will build a clean, low-carbon chemical industry chain. II. Key Contract Information Contract Value : 2.026 billion yuan (provisional estimate) Schedule Arrangement : The contract duration is approximately 27 months, and the planned mechanical completion date is expected to be June 18, 2028 Scope of Contracting : Donghua Technology is fully responsible for the full-process EPC work, including pre-project consulting, design, procurement, construction and installation, testing and detection, cooperation for completion acceptance, operation support, construction-period insurance, handover, and start-up commissioning guidance. III. Project Entity and Performance Assurance The entity responsible for the project’s construction and operation is Renewable Green Hydrogen Energy (Inner Mongolia) Co., Ltd. Its controlling shareholder is Yijingxing Green Hydrogen Energy Investment (Hainan) Co., Ltd., and the ultimate controlling party is Renewable Green Hydrogen Energy Technology Asia Co., Ltd. Currently, the project has completed the investment project filing with the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and the partners have sufficient performance capability, laying a solid foundation for the smooth advancement of the project.

[SMM Tin Morning Briefing: The Most-Traded SHFE Tin Contract Opened Sharply Lower in the Night Session and Remained Rangebound at Low Levels, While Trading in the Spot Market Was Relatively Mediocre]

This week, spot lithium carbonate prices moved sideways, with the center edging slightly lower. At the start of the week (March 9), prices dropped slightly, then fluctuated upward over the following two days, before turning lower again on Thursday (March 12). The weekly average price center of SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate shifted lower WoW. Futures moved wildly, with prices of the most-traded contract posting wide swings between 142,000 yuan/mt and 167,300 yuan/mt. Market transactions were marked by a stalemate of "upstream reluctance to sell, downstream caution." Upstream lithium chemical plants generally showed weak willingness to sell spot orders, with a sentiment of holding back sales and holding prices firm throughout the week, and only a few enterprises made limited shipments when prices surged. Downstream material plants maintained a strategy of buying the dip. When futures prices quickly fell to relatively low levels, purchase willingness among some enterprises increased somewhat; however, after prices rose, they quickly turned cautious again, with insufficient willingness to chase higher prices. Overall, inquiry activity was moderate, but actual transactions were slightly sluggish. Looking ahead, the market is expected to remain in the doldrums in the short term. Upstream lithium chemical plants' reluctance to sell provided some support to prices, but downstream purchase willingness remained weak, lacking sustained demand boost. Against a backdrop of cooling futures market sentiment and declining open interest, prices lacked momentum to rise, while downside was constrained by costs and support from reluctance to sell. Lithium carbonate prices are expected to fluctuate in the short term.

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.

This week，the solid-state battery industry showed a dual-engine momentum driven by "intensive breakthroughs on the technology front and targeted solutions on the policy front." CATL disclosed a sulphide patent, Zhongkeyuanben's 20Ah all-solid-state battery passed third-party detection, and Dreame Technology released a 450Wh/kg product; Guangdong took the lead in incorporating diversified solid-state battery technology routes and eVTOL scenarios into provincial-level action plans.

On the demand side, the EV battery market has seen order contractions compared to earlier expectations, impacted by lackluster new energy vehicle sales both domestically and internationally.