In December 2025, China's ternary precursor exports totaled 6,487 tons, marking a significant decline of 34% month-on-month and 49% year-on-year. South Korea maintained its position as China's primary export destination.

NCM 6-series materials solidified their dominant position within China's EV battery market. Capitalizing on this market shift, several domestic cathode material producers focusing on the mid-to-high nickel segment delivered outstanding performances. Simultaneously, the overseas ternary market maintained its focus on high-nickel materials.

On January 17, a high-level delegation of 10 officials from key Zambian government institutions—including the Zambia National Assembly, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Finance, and Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) — visited Shanghai Metals Market (SMM).

Lithium carbonate, as a core raw material in the lithium battery industry chain, has seen recent price fluctuations driving up lithium battery production costs.

Against the backdrop of accelerating global energy transition and reshaping supply chain dynamics, Africa, with its abundant critical resources such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, and phosphate ore, is rapidly emerging as an indispensable strategic hub in the global battery value chain.

At the close of 2025, the continued rise in lithium carbonate prices pushed up lithium battery costs. With expectations of future cost advantages for sodium-ion batteries, substitution expectations continued to heat up, directly catalyzing a seasonal peak demand period in the industry chain. Against this backdrop, various segments of the sodium-ion battery industry showed differentiated growth trends. From materials to battery cell end-users, core product orders and production volumes benefited simultaneously. Enterprises engaged in frequent stockpiling and overseas expansion activities, laying a solid foundation for industry development in 2026.

Semi-solid-state (solid-liquid hybrid) battery energy storage is transitioning from technical validation to large-scale commercialization.

A Panoramic View of the Global Lithium Ore Market from 2025 to 2026: From Divergence to Rebalancing

In the first half of 2025, factors such as concentrated pre-holiday (Chinese New Year) restocking by downstream consumers, an increase in tolling volumes, and tepid spot market demand collectively led to an overall weak willingness for spot purchases in the market.