[SMM Separator Weekly Review] Coated separator prices increase slightly

Separator prices edged up this week. According to data, quotes for 7μm+2μm wet-process coated separators were 1.143-1.35 yuan/m², with an average price of 1.247 yuan/m², up 0.004 yuan WoW; quotes for 9μm+3μm wet-process coated separators were 1.14-1.3 yuan/m², with an average price of 1.22 yuan/m², up about 0.0075 yuan WoW. Two details are worth noting. First, the increase was relatively small, but it proceeded by an "overall upward shift of the range"—the lower bound for 7μm+2μm rose 0.003 yuan and the upper bound rose 0.005 yuan, while the lower bound for 9μm+3μm rose 0.005 yuan and the upper bound rose 0.01 yuan. The simultaneous rise at both ends indicates that the price increase is being gradually confirmed in transactions, rather than being driven by isolated high quotes. Second, the increase for 9μm+3μm was larger than that for 7μm+2μm, reflecting the boost from ESS sector demand for 9μm products. The upward momentum still stems from supply and demand. Separator production growth has remained below end-user production schedule growth, and the gap has not narrowed. There is also a structural change on the demand side: as capacity for large battery cells comes online, battery cell manufacturers are accelerating the shift from 7μm to 5μm. 5μm imposes higher requirements on production line yield and equipment, so actual effective supply is tighter than nominal capacity.

SMM New Energy Research Department

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lyu Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhang Haohan 021-51666752

Wang Zihan 021-51666914

Wang Jie 021-51595902

Xu Yang 021-51666760

Chen Bolin 021-51666836

Yang Le 021-51595898

Li Yisha 021-51666730