[SMM Weekly Review] Second-Life Battery Market Prices Held Steady, Pre-Holiday Stockpiling Saw Limited Increase, High-Level Market Under Pressure, 4.27-4.30, 2026

Published: Apr 30, 2026 15:55

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This week, the second-life battery cell market maintained overall price stability. Cost side, lithium carbonate prices fluctuated upward this week, nickel sulphate prices climbed steadily, while cobalt sulphate prices continued their weak downward trend. Overall, raw material futures showed divergent trends, but the strengthening of lithium and nickel categories would push up battery cell recycling and processing production costs. However, there was a certain time lag in the top-down transmission of raw material price changes to the battery cell market, forming strong bottom support for the market. Supply side, at the current stage, the overall supply volume of second-life and Grade A/B battery for well-known mobile phone cell markets remained stable, battery cell enterprises maintained orderly shipments pace, market circulating sources showed no significant incremental changes, and the supply side overall maintained a loose and balanced pattern without causing notable disruption to prices. Demand side, as the Labour Day holiday approached, some downstream enterprises initiated pre-holiday restocking and stockpiling activities, driving a slight recovery in rigid market demand. However, driven by the transmission of earlier high costs, second-life battery market prices had already risen last week, and the current overall price level was already in a relatively high level range. End-user terminals showed weak willingness to accept high-priced sources and remained cautious about purchasing at high prices. The demand side could hardly continue to drive prices to rise, with most participants purchasing as needed. Under the counterbalance of multiple factors, second-life battery market prices this week basically maintained a sideways and steady trend.

SMM April 30 News:

Second-life application weekly update:

Second-life battery cell market prices remained stable overall this week. Cost side, lithium carbonate prices fluctuated upward this week, nickel sulphate prices rose steadily, while cobalt sulphate prices continued their weak downward trend. Overall raw material futures showed divergent trends, but the strengthening of lithium and nickel categories will push up battery cell recycling and processing production costs. However, there is a certain time lag in the top-down transmission of raw material price changes to the battery cell market, forming strong bottom support for the market. Supply side, the overall supply volume of second-life and Grade A/B battery for well-known mobile phone cell markets remained stable at the current stage, with battery cell enterprises maintaining orderly shipments pace. Market circulating sources showed no significant incremental changes, and the supply side maintained a loose and balanced pattern overall, causing no notable disturbance to prices. Demand side, as the Labour Day holiday approached, some downstream enterprises initiated pre-holiday restocking and stockpiling activities, driving a slight recovery in rigid market demand. However, driven by the transmission of earlier high costs, second-life battery market prices already rose last week, and the current overall price level was already in a relatively high level range. End-user terminals showed weak willingness to accept high-priced sources and maintained a cautious attitude toward purchasing at high prices. The demand side could hardly continue to drive prices to rise, with most participants purchasing as needed. Under the counterbalance of multiple factors, second-life battery market prices basically maintained a sideways and steady trend this week.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lv Yanlin 021-20707875

Lei Yue 021-20707873

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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