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Zhangye City in Gansu Province has officially launched an investment promotion for the Zhangye Economic Development Zone ESS Battery Separator Project. With a total estimated investment of 3 billion yuan, the project plans to construct 2–6 ultra-wide high-speed separator production lines and 7–21 coating lines. Located in the Circular Economy Demonstration Park, the facility is expected to reach an annual output value of 3.5 billion yuan upon completion. The Zhangye Municipal Development and Reform Commission is leading the recruitment of industrial partners for this initiative.

The Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission and the Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development have officially released the Beijing 2026 Key Engineering Plan. Marking the start of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the city will advance 300 major projects categorized into three groups: 100 technological innovation and modern industry projects, 100 infrastructure projects, and 100 livelihood improvement projects. The plan includes 120 new starts and 180 ongoing projects, notably featuring the development of three large-scale energy storage (ESS) bases to bolster the city's energy infrastructure.

Guangxi Yuegui Holdings has announced plans to raise up to 900 million yuan to fund three core industrial projects. The largest portion, 600 million yuan, will be allocated to a 100,000-ton/year refined wet-process phosphoric acid project. Additionally, 200 million yuan is earmarked for a glass-grade quartz sandstone mining project in Guangdong, while the remaining 100 million yuan will support the automation and scaling of Yunliu Mining’s crushing systems. These investments aim to drive production safety, reduce costs, and expand overall capacity through technical upgrades.

QatarEnergy announced in a news release on its official website that, after deciding to halt production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and its related products, the company will also suspend production of certain downstream products within Qatar, specifically including urea, polymers, methanol, and aluminum.

[SMM Daily Review: Spot Lithium Carbonate Prices Fell Sharply on March 3] The SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate index price fell sharply from the previous working day. Futures side, after the most-traded contract opened at 170,000 yuan/mt in the morning session, it fluctuated downward throughout the session and at one point touched the limit-down price of 150,800 yuan/mt. It then rebounded slightly and hovered around 154,000 yuan/mt, but weakened again after the midday session and ultimately stayed locked at limit-down through the close. Open interest in the most-traded contract fell by about 39,000 lots from the previous trading day. Actual transactions, upstream lithium chemical plants’ willingness to sell spot orders remained weak, with a clear sentiment to hold back sales. After prices fell rapidly in the morning, downstream material plants’ purchase willingness strengthened markedly, and most enterprises adopted a laddered order-placement strategy to buy on dips. Overall, market inquiries were active and transaction momentum increased significantly.

According to industry sources on the 3rd, POSCO Argentina, a subsidiary of POSCO Holdings, will commence operations of the first-phase lithium brine plant by the end of this month, despite partial delays caused by supply issues involving key replacement components. Initial utilization rates are expected to start at around 60%, with full-scale operations targeted after the third quarter following equipment optimization and operational improvements. The company anticipates reaching near full capacity from July to August.

On March 2, Canadian Solar Inc. released its investor relations activity record, stating that with energy storage business as a key focus area, CSI Solar's global energy storage shipments are expected to reach 14-17GWh in 2026. The company's equity-accounted US HJT cell factory Phase 1 2GW project is expected to commence trial production in March-April 2026. As projects evolve in the US market, customer requirements regarding supply chain qualifications and delivery capabilities are increasing, which is expected to contribute to profit enhancement.

On February 28, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially released the list of enterprises (ninth batch) that meet the "Lithium-ion Battery Industry Standard Conditions," known as the Lithium Battery White List. A total of 36 enterprises are included in this batch. Among them, energy storage battery manufacturers include Ganfeng LiEnergy, Yichun Gotion, and Zhongqi Xinneng Qingdao. Other enterprises on the list are categorized into power batteries, cathode materials, anode materials, separators, and consumer batteries, among others.

On February 27, 2026, solid-state battery projects from Dejia Energy (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Yuanchen Hangneng Technology Development Co., Ltd., both enterprises in the Lingang Blue Bay Park, were signed. Dejia Energy's Lingang project plans to construct a 3GWh solid-state battery production line in two phases, which will help upgrade Lingang from a traditional lithium battery manufacturing base to a highland for the industrialization of next-generation battery technologies. Shanghai Yuanchen Hangneng's project focuses on core solid-state electrolyte technologies and is dedicated to the research, development, and production of high-energy-density, high-safety all-solid-state lithium batteries. Equipment commissioning and production are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Chilean lithium producer SQM announced that its Q4 net profit increased due to favorable market conditions which raised the average price of lithium and thus boosted performance. The world's second-largest lithium miner stated that its Q4 net profit was $183.8 million up 53% YoY. Revenue for the quarter grew by 23.3% reaching $1.32 billion compared to $1.07 billion in the same period last year. Gross profit for the quarter rose 52.7% to $448.5 million. SQM CEO Ramos said, "Our Q4 2025 results reflect record sales from our two major lithium businesses (Nova Andino Litio and the International Lithium Division)." "In November 2025, we began to see early signs of an improving supply-demand balance primarily driven by stronger-than-expected ESS demand."

On February 28, the construction of the second batch of China's large-scale wind and PV bases in desert-Gobi-wasteland areas, and the country's largest single coal mining subsidence area PV project, the 4 million kW Ningxia Lingwu coal mining subsidence area new energy base, was completed and put into operation, marking the full completion of the 6 million kW Ningxia coal mining subsidence area composite PV base. In addition, the project is equipped with a 600MW/1200MWh ESS, of which 400MW/800MWh has been completed, using grid-forming ESS technology.

[SMM Daily Review: Spot Lithium Carbonate Prices Fluctuate Upward on March 2] SMM's battery-grade lithium carbonate index price edged up compared to the previous working day. In terms of futures movement, the most-traded contract opened and surged to a high of 179,500 yuan/mt before fluctuating and pulling back, breaking below the 170,000 yuan/mt level, and then gradually stabilized and rebounded to consolidate around 172,000 yuan/mt. In the afternoon, prices edged up again, mainly fluctuating around 173,500 yuan/mt until the close. The open interest of the most-traded contract decreased by about 3,200 lots compared to the previous trading day. In terms of actual transactions, upstream lithium chemical plants maintained relatively firm quotes, with a weak willingness to sell spot orders. When futures prices dropped to 170,000 yuan/mt, some downstream material plants showed a slight recovery in purchase willingness, but most participants remained cautious, primarily adopting a wait-and-see approach. Overall, there were signs of a slight recovery in market inquiries and transactions.

South Korea's Solivis focuses on sulphide solid electrolytes. The core product has an ionic conductivity as high as 12 mS/cm, surpassing the level of liquid electrolytes. The world's largest mass production plant for sulphide electrolytes was completed in November 2025, with plans to expand capacity to 400 mt by 2027. It has already supplied to leading battery and automaker companies in South Korea and Japan, aiming to become the world's top solid electrolyte provider by 2030.