[Lithium battery: Do-Fluoride Q1-Q3 net profit up 659% YoY to RMB 592 million]

Shanshan announced a private share placement to its indirect controlling shareholder Conch Group, which will subscribe in full with cash, raising up to RMB 4 billion. Part of the proceeds will fund a 150,000-ton-per-year lithium battery anode integrated base in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, with planned investment of RMB 5.106 billion and 50,000 tons of supporting graphitization capacity; RMB 1.5 billion will supplement working capital.

GM outlined its fourth-generation EV platform at the GM Forward event in New York on October 21 local time. The platform will use lithium manganese-rich (LMR) prismatic cells to be manufactured by Ultium Cells, its joint venture with LG Energy Solution, in Spring Hill, Tennessee. GM’s design target is 33% greater energy density than LFP batteries at a comparable cost. Combining the new batteries, propulsion systems and aerodynamics, the company also targets approximately 20% more driving range per kilowatt-hour than its current vehicles. The new drive units are designed with 40% fewer internal components, while the electrical architecture reduces wiring length by 30%.

This week, second-life application market prices began to pull back, with overall trading sentiment remaining subdued. The continued weakening of raw materials on the cost side is the core driver behind this round of price softening. Raw materials on the cost side extended their downward pattern, with divergence in the pace of movement across categories. Lithium carbonate maintained a downward trend overall this week; cobalt sulphate fell notably at the start of the week before gradually stabilising; nickel sulphate continued its earlier grind lower, further weakening cost support for second-life products overall. The supply side showed no significant changes, with stable circulation pace across categories and a steady market supply state, with no extreme situations such as concentrated volume releases or tightening supply. The demand side showed no clear improvement, and combined with falling cost-side prices dragging market expectations weaker, previously stable quotes began to loosen and move lower. In the short term, if cost-side prices continue to pull back, the likelihood of further downside in second-life application market prices is relatively high.