In 2021, China produced 1.1117 million tons of cathode materials and 52000 tons of lithium hexafluorophosphate.

On January 19, Battery Network learned from the Lithium Branch of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association that China's lithium industry still maintained a rapid growth rate in 2021.

According to the statistics of the Lithium Industry Branch, China's output of lithium carbonate in 2021 was 298200 tons (with a capacity of about 500000 tons), an increase of about 59.47 percent, and that of lithium hydroxide was 190300 tons (with a capacity of about 260000 tons), an increase of about 105 percent over the same period last year. In China, the lithium salt produced by using domestic salt lake brine (60, 000 tons), lepidolite concentrate (60, 000 tons) and spodumene (10, 000 tons) is equivalent to about 160000 tons of lithium carbonate, and the dependence of lithium raw materials is about 65%.

With regard to cathode materials for lithium batteries, China produced about 1.1117 million tons (with a production capacity of more than 1.7 million tons) in 2021, an increase of about 100.78% over the same period last year. Among them, the output of lithium cobalt, ternary materials, lithium iron phosphate and lithium manganate is 101000 tons, 440500 tons, 459100 tons and 111100 tons respectively.

The lithium industry branch also announced that the output of lithium hexafluorophosphate, the main electrolyte material in China, will be 52000 tons in 2021.

In terms of price, data released by SMM show that the market price of lithium electricity upstream materials rose again and again in 2021, of which the year-end price of lithium carbonate was 275000 yuan / ton, an annual increase of 418.87%; the year-end price of lithium hydroxide was 222500 yuan / ton, an annual increase of 349.49%; and the year-end price of lithium iron phosphate was 109000 yuan / ton, an annual increase of 186.84%.

"Click to view the spot market of SMM new energy products.

In addition, according to the battery network consulting relevant industry chain companies, in 2021, the mainstream price of lithium hexafluorophosphate market rose from about 105000 yuan / ton at the beginning of the year to more than 550000 yuan / ton at the end of the year, an annual increase of more than 423.8%.

In terms of investment and production expansion, according to the announcements of listed companies and public reports, Battery Network counted the investment and expansion projects of the battery new energy industry chain in 2021, including 317 projects, 281 announced the amount of investment, with a total investment of more than 1.27 trillion yuan. Among them, in the field of cathode materials and upstream raw materials, among the 91 projects, 76 projects announced the amount of investment, with a total investment of about 285.302 billion yuan. In the field of electrolyte, 44 of the 47 projects announced the amount of investment, with a total investment of about 48.252 billion yuan.

In 2022, the supply of lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, ternary materials, lithium iron phosphate and lithium hexafluorophosphate is still tight, the price continues to rise, and the heat of investment and production expansion is not reduced. Wu Hui, general manager of the Research Department of Yiwei Economic Research Institute and president of China Battery Industry Research Institute, predicts that the upstream lithium carbonate field will be in a tight balance in the next five years; in the field of cathode materials, the production capacity of lithium iron phosphate is tight before 2025, and the demand for ternary materials will increase rapidly after 2025. In the field of electrolyte, if all are put into production as planned in the next five years, there will be excess capacity, but the core link of the electrolyte industry chain is not the electrolyte itself, but the upstream lithium salts and additives.