CATL and Octopus Form Joint Venture to Develop Battery Swapping Network for Electric Trucks in Europe

On June 22, CATL and Octopus Energy, the largest energy company in the UK, announced plans to establish a joint venture. The two parties will jointly build a heavy-duty truck battery swap network in Europe. CATL will introduce its Qiji battery swap technology to Europe, promoting the electrification transformation of road freight by enhancing the charging efficiency of heavy-duty trucks. According to the plan, in 2027, the two parties will complete the construction of the first batch of demonstration battery swap stations in the UK, prioritizing coverage of major highway trunk lines and key logistics ports. It is expected that by 2035, the battery swap station network will expand to more than 30 stations, with business reach extending to Scotland and Wales, forming a battery swap network covering the UK's core trunk routes.

China's exports of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) in May 2026 reached 7,625.4 tonnes, up 29.3% month-on-month from April and surging 710.0% year-on-year from May 2025, setting a new high for a single month this year.

The settlement mechanism for LFP is evolving, but the “lithium + phosphoric acid” dual linkage covers only a portion of costs and carries structural flaws such as process mismatch and lagging price references. SMM believes the industry should move directly to the ultimate “lithium carbonate + iron phosphate” solution. The SMM iron phosphate price is a settlement benchmark recognized by both upstream and downstream players.