Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: catalogue of recommended models for the Promotion and Application of New Energy vehicles (the 8th batch in 2020)

A weekly update on the trending stories from the New Energy sector.

Guoxuan Hi-Tech acquired the Göttingen plant of Bosch Group and established the first new energy production and operation base in Europe.

This is a roundup of China's metals output in April 2021, from an exclusive survey of key producers by SMM analysts.

Carbon neutrality stocks have attracted market attention recently. In December 2020, the Central Economic Work Conference determined that promoting a peak in coal consumption and carbon neutrality are one of the key tasks to be focused in 2021. China is aiming to improve the system that caps both national carbon intensity－carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP－and energy consumption, as it strives to reach a peak in carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing carbon dioxide emissions with removal (often through carbon offsetting) or simply eliminating carbon dioxide emissions altogether. It is used in the context of carbon dioxide-releasing processes associated with transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industrial processes. Carbon neutrality is expected be an important part of the "Two Sessions" and the "14th Five-Year Plan” to be held this week. 

Automobile sales have shown a gradual recovery trend since April. China automobile production and sales have achieved year-on-year growth for eight consecutive months as of November.

At present, the capacity of lithium carbonate (industrial grade and battery grade) smelters in Sichuan accounts for 20% of the China's total capacity, and the capacity of lithium hydroxide accounts for 37% of the country's total. Expansion is in progress.

CATL will further strengthen its cooperation with Mercedes-Benz in the field of battery technology to support the large-scale electrification of Mercedes-Benz models.

In this three part webinar series, our analysts will share their views on the trending topics across the China domestic ferrous, non-ferrous and new energy sectors during this unprecedented period.

China has taken a leading position in global new energy industry despite source starvation; mining and battery sectors are highly concentrated in the global new energy value chain, while smelters and material producers, who are in the middle of the value chain, are less concentrated and suffer from thin gross profits and overcapacity, said Racket Hu, vice president of SMM.

In February, SMM will be hosting a 4-session special webinar series on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Wednesdays and Fridays, 5pm CST.