China Ternary Cathode Materials Output In May And Forecast For June

SHANGHAI, Jun 15 (SMM) –The domestic ternary cathode material output was 54,675 mt in May, up 22% MoM and 18% YoY. Overseas demand was stable. In the domestic market, growing automobile production and sales, together with stocking up for electronics shopping festival on June 18, boosted demand for ternary cathode materials. In addition, depleted inventories on hand and rising lithium prices also drove battery cell makers to stock up. Driven by growing demand, ternary cathode material enterprises beefed up production significantly. The 5-series ternary cathode materials saw the most significant output increase amid strong domestic demand, while output of the 6 and 8-series rose only slightly.

Demand from NEV market is expected to rise slightly in June, while demand from the e-bike and digital electronics sectors may stabilise. SMM estimates China’s ternary cathode material output at 58,727 mt in June, up 7% MoM and 11% YoY.