The summit set the tone of "oxide first, sulphide later"; on the eve of mass production, capital and projects accelerated in resonance [SMM Solid-State Battery Weekly Analysis].

SMM, August 14:

Key points: This week, the Chicago summit clarified the industry pace: oxide electrolytes are expected to be deployed first within two to three years, while sulphide all-solid-state batteries have been postponed to 2028-2030. Baima Lake Laboratory's boride solid-state battery exceeded 400 Wh/kg, operates over a wide temperature range and under low pressure, and is targeting low-altitude economy and robotics scenarios. The Sichuan Advanced Battery Innovation Center will be delivered at the end of August, Shandong Chuanglu's 100 mt-class production line is set to begin volume production, and Del Co., Ltd. has completed its PACK pilot line. Ruizhi New Energy and Guxin Energy raised a combined total of more than 100 million yuan, and a joint laboratory for robot batteries was established. Solid-state batteries have fully shifted from laboratory research to volume production-driven development.

1. Introduction: Prices and Markets
This week (from August 6 to August 13, 2026), upstream prices along the solid-state battery industry chain were broadly stable, but structural divergence continued to intensify. Sulphide system: core raw material prices for sulphide solid-state electrolytes continued to fall. Lithium sulphide has fallen by more than 50% over the past six months and is expected to fall further to 1,300 yuan/kg, while LPSC has pulled back to below 5,000 yuan/kg.

1.1 Solid-State Electrolytes: Sulphide Pulled Back Slightly, Oxide Held Steady
This week, the two core solid-state electrolyte products diverged: the price of LPSC (Li₆PS₅Cl type) sulphide electrolyte gradually pulled back from 4,400 yuan/kg to 4,300 yuan/kg over the week, a weekly decline of about 2.27%. Specifically, after a quote of 4,400 yuan/kg on August 7, prices held steady at 4,375 yuan/kg on August 10-12, then fell further to 4,300 yuan/kg on August 13.
Oxide electrolyte LLZO (lanthanum-zirconium-titanium oxide type) held steady at 638 yuan/kg all week and has been flat for several consecutive weeks.
The weakening in sulphide electrolyte prices was directly linked to the recent acceleration in industry capacity expansion. This week's industry developments showed that Tinci Material's 100 mt-class sulphide solid-state electrolyte pilot line is expected to be completed and put into production in Q3 2026, and that Tianshi Kefeng completed new financing worth tens of millions of yuan to boost sulphide electrolyte capacity. The expected supply-side increase put some pressure on prices. Shandong Chuanglu's solid-state electrolyte production line with an annual capacity of 150 mt has completed installation and commissioning and is about to enter large-scale industrialisation. Ruizhi New Energy focuses on active functional separators and membrane-type solid-state electrolytes, compatible with liquid, solid-liquid and all-solid-state systems.
The LATP oxide electrolyte has high process maturity, with prices falling from 480 yuan/kg in early 2024 to over 90 yuan/kg in August 2026, about 15% of LLZO. Its significant cost advantage is driving semi-solid-state batteries from technology validation toward large-scale commercial adoption.
1.2 Silicon-Carbon Anode Materials (Weekly Update): Clear Price Gradient
Silicon-carbon anode produced by the deposition method (resin-based) was priced as high as 525,000 yuan/mt, 2.2 times the 235,500 yuan/mt for ball-milled material, reflecting a significant premium due to process barriers. As the only domestic company mass-producing 400 Wh/kg solid-liquid batteries, Guxin Energy uses a lithium-silicon-carbon anode technology route. Its production line is running at full capacity and orders are scheduled through September, indicating high-end silicon-carbon anode.
On August 14, SMM officially launched price points for its porous carbon product series, covering resin-based perfect-sphere porous carbon and resin-based spheroidal porous carbon, among others, to provide a more comprehensive spot price reference for key upstream raw materials for silicon carbon anodes.
1.3 Upstream Lithium Sources and Cathode Materials: Lithium Hydroxide Strengthens Notably, Ternary Materials Steady-to-Higher
Cathode materials: This week, ternary cathode material prices rebounded slightly, but raw-material-side nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate prices continued to decline; although lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices rebounded, ternary cathode material quotes overall changed little and remained at relatively low levels. For lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials, Shandong Chuanglu has completed pilot-scale verification, and its kt-scale production line has entered trial production.
This week, the 6th Global Solid-State Battery Annual Summit was held, further solidifying the industry consensus that solid-state batteries have fully shifted from a “laboratory story” to “orders and volume-production driven.”
II. Materials: Cathode and Anode
2.1 Cathode Materials: High-Nickel Ternary Set in the Short Term, Lithium-Rich Takes Over in the Medium Term.The Chicago Summit made it clear that the oxide route will be prioritized for implementation within 2–3 years, tied to the volume ramp of solid-liquid hybrid batteries; high-nickel ternary (Ni≥83%), backed by mature processes, became the absolute mainstay for pilot and mass-production projects at Yibin Innovation Center, De’er, Ruizhi New Energy and others. Sulphide all-solid-state batteries have been postponed to 2028–2030. Constrained by high-voltage interface side reactions, they will shift to lithium-rich manganese-based cathodes in the later stage. The new Baima Lake boride route targets the low-altitude economy and 3C application scenarios and is expected to be compatible with high-voltage LCO. LFP has a very low share in solid-state systems due to its energy density ceiling. Overall, high-nickel ternary is the most certain cathode growth over the next two years.
2.2 Solid-State Battery Anode: Silicon Carbon Takes Over, Lithium Metal Longer Term.In the 2026–2027 solid-liquid/semi-solid scale-up phase, CVD silicon-carbon anode will be the mainstay; BTR, PTL, and Dowstone, among others, are advancing mt-scale to kt-scale production lines, delivering 350–400 Wh/kg with high-nickel ternary, and this anode has already been introduced in projects including Yibin Innovation Center, De’er pilot line, and Guxin solid-liquid mass production. Lithium metal anodes (including anode-free frameworks) can achieve energy densities of 450–500 Wh/kg, but are constrained by dendrites, 5–40 MPa external pressure and cycle life; only Ganfeng, BTR and others have conducted small-scale/20 Ah-level validation, far from mass production. The Baima Lake boride wide-temperature battery has not disclosed its anode grade; low-pressure operation favours lithium metal or silicon-carbon composite. Overall, the certainty of anode growth over the next two years lies in high-end silicon-carbon, while lithium metal is an all-solid-state item to be realized after 2028.

III. Battery: Cell and System Progress
This week, several breakthroughs at the solid-state battery cell level were worth noting.
Baima Lake Laboratory Achieves Breakthrough in Boride Solid-State Batteries. The research team adopted a boride electrolyte route and successfully developed a solid-state battery capable of stable operation over a wide temperature range from -20°C to 120°C, with an energy density of 400 Wh/kg, a cycle life exceeding 2,000 cycles, and the ability to withstand 180°C in hot-box safety tests. To address the industry pain points of low ionic conductivity in solid-state batteries and the need to apply external pressure above 40 MPa, the team reduced the external pressure required for operation to below 5 MPa through an integrated structural innovation of the anode and electrolyte layer. In early 2026, the team successfully trial-produced a 20 Ah large-capacity battery cell, which, at the same volume, can extend UAV flight time by 30% to 40%, and has locked in three major application directions: low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, embodied AI robots, and high-end 3C products.
De'er Co., Ltd. completed its PACK pilot line. De'er Co., Ltd. said that its solid-state battery PACK pilot line has been completed, its battery cell pilot line is under construction, related equipment is being delivered successively, and the company is striving to complete construction before the end of September. The company has been building its solid-state battery R&D capabilities since 2018, and the launch of this pilot line marks a key step in the industrialisation of its solid-state batteries.
IV. Projects: Capacity Construction and Platform Implementation
Sichuan Advanced Battery Innovation Center is about to be delivered. The project started on-site construction in June this year. At present, basic supporting works such as plant renovation, cleanroom and fire protection are nearing completion, overall construction progress has reached 80%, and the project is planned to be delivered for use by the end of August. With a total floor area of more than 8,600 m², the project focuses on tackling key technologies related to composite electrolytes and solid-liquid quasi-solid-state battery cells, and will simultaneously carry out pilot scale-up of technologies, incubation of industry chain enterprises, and transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements. Laboratory equipment commissioning is expected to start in Q4 this year, and the centre is expected to be put into operation and begin small-scale R&D in Q1 next year, with simultaneous construction of a second-phase pilot workshop.
Shandong Chuanglu's 100 mt-class solid-state electrolyte is about to enter mass production. The company's full range of solid-state electrolytes and lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials have completed pilot verification, and the batch-to-batch stability of products and the mass-production process have fully met standards. A production line with an annual capacity of 150 mt of solid-state electrolyte has completed installation and commissioning, and the kt-class cathode material production line has entered trial production.
Tianqi Lithium is advancing a lithium sulphide pilot project. The company is promoting a pilot project in Meishan, Sichuan, with an annual capacity of 50 mt of lithium sulphide, targeting electrolyte materials for sulphide solid-state batteries.
V. Financing and Cooperation
Ruizhi New Energy completed a Pre-A+ financing round worth tens of millions of yuan. This round was exclusively funded by Shanghai Chenyao Yichuang Investment Fund, which was jointly established by Shanghai Guotou Sci-Tech and Yixing Jingfa. The financing will be used to expand capacity at the Yixing base and accelerate the localisation of solid-state lithium battery materials. Leveraging technology transfer from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Ruizhi New Energy focuses on active functional separators and membrane-type solid-state electrolytes, and its core products have already entered the supply chains of several leading battery producers.
Guxin Energy completed a 100-million-yuan-level financing round. The round was led by Toukong Donghai, with participation from Jianyuan Fund. The closing of the financing marked Guxin Energy's formal upgrade from a specialty high-end battery supplier to a core energy infrastructure service provider for the embodied AI, low-altitude economy, and commercial aerospace sectors. As an important commercialization unit for research achievements of the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the company has built high-end battery manufacturing bases in Liyang, Jiangsu, and Ji'an, Jiangxi.
The China Electronics Standardization Institute, JD.com, and Sunwoda established a joint laboratory for robot batteries. The three parties signed a cooperation agreement in Beijing on August 7, focusing on the development of robot battery standards, product development, testing and validation, and typical applications. The China Electronics Standardization Institute led the drafting of China's only robot battery standard to date; JD.com leveraged its logistics scenarios to provide large-scale application and real-world testing iterations, and Sunwoda was responsible for custom battery cell development and mass production. After the signing, two discussion meetings on robot battery standards were held, attended by more than 60 experts.
VI. Overseas Progress
The Sixth Annual Global Solid-State Battery Summit was held in Chicago. On August 11, companies including Toyota, Nissan, and Ford attended the summit and discussed materials such as sulphide and oxide electrolytes, high-nickel ternary materials, and silicon carbon anode materials, as well as mass-production processes. The summit reached an important industry consensus: oxide electrolytes will be the first to reach commercialization within the next 2-3 years, and mass production of sulphide all-solid-state batteries will be postponed from 2028 to 2030.
Korea Marine Drone Technology and Solitec signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The two parties will jointly conduct R&D on the application of solid-state batteries and ultra-high-energy-density batteries at the 500 Wh/kg level in UAV platforms. Key cooperation areas include UAV-specific battery pack design, safety and reliability validation, demonstration flight testing and system optimization, as well as performance verification in real mission scenarios for special environments such as offshore inspections and severe weather. Solitec was co-founded by energy engineering experts from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea and focuses on R&D of next-generation battery materials and solid-state battery technology.
Asahi Kasei signed the first China license agreement for Acetolyte™ electrolyte technology. Asahi Kasei and HighChem (Shanghai) signed a non-exclusive license agreement for Acetolyte™ high ionic conductivity electrolyte technology, the first license agreement for the technology in the Chinese market.
VII. This Week's Industry Voices
“In 2026, solid-state batteries have shifted entirely from a 'laboratory story' to being 'order- and mass-production-driven,' with equipment first, material positioning, and application differentiation becoming the main theme of the current market.”
“In H2, as production lines of 100 mt and above come on stream one after another, the industry will move from 'kg-level transactions' to 'mt-level transactions,' and economies of scale will drive the price center significantly downward.”
The 6th Global Solid-State Battery Annual Summit reached a consensus: “Oxide electrolytes will be deployed first over the next 2-3 years, while mass production of sulphide-based all-solid-state batteries has been postponed to the period from 2028 to 2030.”
Summary: This week, the solid-state battery summit set the tone, delivered technological breakthroughs, accelerated capacity ramp-up, and saw further capital inflows. The Chicago Summit clarified the industry pace of deploying oxide electrolytes first and postponing sulphide-based all-solid-state batteries to the period from 2028 to 2030; Baima Lake Laboratory achieved substantive breakthroughs in boride solid-state batteries in wide operating temperature range and low-pressure operation; projects including the Sichuan Advanced Battery Innovation Centre and Shandong Chuanglu 100 mt-class production lines entered delivery and mass production; Ruizhi New Energy and Guxin Energy completed new financing rounds, with capital continuing to increase. Solid-state battery industrialisation is moving from “single-point breakthroughs” to the “systematic advancement” stage.

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