[SMM Weekly Review] Battery Cells for Energy Storage in the Second-Life Application Market Remained in Undersupply, with Structural Price Increases, 2026.03.16-2026.03.19

Published: Mar 19, 2026 16:40

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This week, the second-life battery market showed clear structural divergence. On the cost side, although lithium carbonate prices saw a temporary uptick this week, they trended downward overall; nickel sulphate prices edged down slightly, while cobalt sulphate prices remained stable. The cost side was mainly affected by fluctuations in lithium carbonate prices. On the supply side, driven by terminal energy storage demand, inventories of new battery cells at battery cell manufacturers were critically low, and the supply of Grade A battery cells was heavily diverted, causing supply in the second-life battery market to remain tight. On the demand side, 280Ah and 314Ah energy storage battery cells were subject to concentrated procurement in the market, resulting in severe shortages and noticeably rising prices. Meanwhile, demand in the EV sector remained weak, inventory was relatively sufficient, and second-life power battery cell prices stayed stable.

SMM News, March 19:

Second-Life Application Market Update This Week:

This week, the second-life battery market showed clear structural divergence. Cost side, although lithium carbonate prices rose temporarily during the week, the overall trend remained downward; nickel sulphate prices edged lower, while cobalt sulphate prices stayed stable. The cost side was mainly affected by fluctuations in lithium carbonate prices. Supply side, driven by end-user demand for energy storage, inventories of new battery cells at battery cell manufacturers were critically low, and a large volume of Grade A battery cell supply was diverted, causing supply in the second-life market to remain tight. Demand side, 280Ah and 314Ah energy storage battery cells were subject to concentrated procurement in the market, resulting in severe shortages and a marked price increase, while demand from the EV sector remained weak, with relatively sufficient inventory, and second-life power battery cell prices stayed stable.

Overall, under the combined effect of surging energy storage demand and tightening supply, prices of second-life energy storage battery cells continued to hold up well. Meanwhile, affected by weak demand, power battery cell prices remained stable, and the market's structural divergence further persisted.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lv Yanlin 021-20707875

Lei Yue 021-20707873

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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