[SMM In-Depth Analysis: Off-Season Futures Surge Creates Arbitrage Window: High-Grade NPI Price Drivers and Outlook] Recently, the market has been trading on expectations of a supply deficit in Indonesia, while non-ferrous metals have generally risen amid macro events, driving nickel prices and high-grade NPI prices steadily higher. Against a backdrop of sluggish end-use consumption, what is supporting the continuous rise in high-grade NPI prices? The detailed analysis is as follows:

At the technological inflection point where the global new energy vehicle industry is evolving from "quantity" to "quality" and safety has become a core concern, Beijing Xingchuan New Energy Battery Technology Co., Ltd. has rapidly emerged as a notable new force in the field of solid-state/semi-solid-state batteries through its differentiated strategy.

A boom in battery storage has bolstered the demand outlook for lithium in 2026, driving hopes for an accelerated turnaround for an industry struggling with oversupply.

A weaker-than-expected year-end rush and falling deliveries at major brands are stoking fears of another price war

SMM Battery-grade lithium carbonate traded at 120,000–135,000 yuan/mt, with an average price of 127,500 yuan/mt, up 8,000 yuan/mt from the previous working day. The most-traded lithium carbonate futures contract showed significant intraday volatility, fluctuating between 132,100 yuan/mt and 137,940 yuan/mt.

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

In 2025, China's titanium market experienced a complex landscape characterized by supply-demand imbalances, cost transmission pressures, and divergent demand trends. All segments of the industrial chain faced significant challenges: upstream titanium concentrate prices weakened both domestically and internationally; midstream titanium dioxide grappled with dual pressures of losses and sluggish exports; downstream sponge titanium and titanium materials, despite capacity expansion, relied heavily on high-end demand for support. However, civilian and export markets remained persistently subdued, maintaining a structurally consolidating pattern overall.