High raw material costs, outstanding high-nickel demand [SMM Weekly Review of Ternary Cathode Material Market]

This week, prices of ternary cathode materials across all categories continued their slight upward trend. Raw material side, nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate prices kept rising, manganese sulphate remained stable, lithium carbonate fluctuated with narrowing declines, while lithium hydroxide experienced a slight correction influenced by lithium carbonate. Currently in the traditional peak season stockpiling phase, but with overall high raw material prices, precursor and lithium chemical plant quotations remained firm. Some producers with relatively low inventories were forced to accept high-priced purchases, resulting in significant cost pressures.

NEV market side, medium-high-nickel material orders showed limited month-on-month growth in August due to sustained stable performance in recent months. In contrast, high-nickel material orders grew more significantly, primarily driven by strong sales of some high-nickel car models in the European market. Consumer market side, some producers reported good order performance recently, with increased market attention on high-nickel products. Additionally, the demand gap created by some battery cell manufacturers exiting the market following previous power bank recall incidents prompted other producers to accelerate market expansion, which also boosted order growth to some extent.