This week, prices for salt products including cobalt sulfate and nickel sulfate continued to rise, while lithium carbonate prices also increased due to solid demand and other fundamental factors. The upward movement in cobalt salts led to slight increases in the black mass coefficients for both ternary and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) materials. However, as the pace of cobalt price increases moderated, the rate of growth for discount coefficients of cobalt and lithium also slowed.

This week, the prices of salt products such as cobalt sulfate and nickel sulfate remained stable, while the price of lithium carbonate also began to rise steadily due to solid demand and other fundamental factors. With the increase in lithium salts, the lithium coefficients for ternary and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) black mass have seen slight increases, though the discount coefficients for nickel and cobalt remained stable for now. Meanwhile, the lithium point price for LFP black mass rose this week in line with the increase in lithium salt prices. Taking LFP electrode black mass as an example, the current price is 2,900–3,100 CNY per lithium point, up by 150 CNY per lithium point compared to the previous period.

This week, prices of salt products like cobalt sulfate and nickel sulfate continued to climb, while lithium carbonate prices also started to increase due to solid demand and other fundamental factors. Driven by the rise in cobalt salts, the discount coefficients for ternary and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) black mass saw slight increases. However, as the pace of the cobalt price increase slowed, the rise in discount coefficients for cobalt and lithium also gradually moderated.

In September, market procurement volume reached 28,100 tons, a month-on-month increase of approximately 8.18%, reflecting an overall active trend. The continuous release of downstream demand was the primary driver: on one hand, most lithium iron phosphate (LFP) hydrometallurgy plants maintained high production levels amid generally stable prices per % lithium , driving the recovery of lithium salt to about 8,000 tons in September, a month-on-month increase of about 9.7%; on the other hand, ternary hydrometallurgy plants saw a significant rise in cobalt sulfate prices due to supply-side influences, while lithium carbonate prices remained stable, further boosting procurement enthusiasm. This led to the recovery of nickel salt production reaching 5,500 metal tons (a month-on-month increase of about 3.32%) and cobalt salt production reaching 1,380 metal tons (a month-on-month increase of 1.1%).

On January 20, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) released GB/T 45203-2024 "Recycled Black Mass for Lithium-Ion Batteries". This specification details multiple requirements and regulations for recycled black mass used in lithium-ion batteries, including specific chemical composition, inspection and acceptance standards, sampling and sample preparation, packaging, and transportation. The key highlights compared to the pre-draft released in June 2024 are as follows: This version classifies the recycled black mass into two types and two grades based on the content of nickel, cobalt, lithium, and impurities. It adds requirements for water-soluble fluoride and specifies the content limits for chemical components like iron, phosphorus, and manganese. Overall, the new specification provides more detailed and specific guidance and standards for the comprehensive utilization industry of spent power batteries from new energy vehicles, contributing to the healthy development of the industry.