[focus] the rapid development of 5G in China will lead to an increase in cobalt demand.

SMM9, March 22: with the increasing maturity of 5G technology and the strong support of national policies, there will be a huge amount of space for 5G development in the future, which means an increase in demand for rechargeable batteries, which will boost the demand for cobalt to some extent.

China is in a leading position in 5G. Han Xia, director of the Information and Communications Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, revealed that so far, more than 500000 5G base stations have been built and the number of 5G terminal connections has exceeded 100 million. by the end of this year, the number of 5G base stations will exceed 600000, covering cities at or above the prefecture level.

In August, 16.17 million 5G mobile phones were shipped in the domestic market, accounting for 60.1 percent of mobile phone shipments in the same period, and 22 new models were on the market, accounting for 48.9 percent of the number of new phones on the market in the same period, according to data from the Institute of Information and Communications. From January to August, the domestic market shipped a total of 93.679 million 5G mobile phones and 141 new models on the market, accounting for 46.3% and 46.8%, respectively. The new phones are mainly launched with 5G phones, and the domestic market is expected to ship 24 million 5G phones in September, accounting for 66.7 per cent of mobile phone shipments in the same period.

According to SMM, the total demand for lithium-ion batteries in China's 3C consumer electronics sector is expected to increase against the trend due to the trend of 39.6G Whminute minute 5G trend in 2020. It is estimated that the total demand for lithium-ion batteries in China's 3C consumer electronics sector will be 43.9GWh and 49GWh respectively from 2021 to 2022.

The upgrading of 5G smartphones, online courses on tablets, the trend of high voltage and high capacity of batteries, the demand for e-cigarettes, drones, TWS headphones and smart homes, and the transfer of some 3C and battery overseas orders to China affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic, the supply of lithium cobalt oxide in China will increase in 2020, which is expected to increase by 13.6% compared with the same period last year. At present, lithium cobalt oxide National Day procurement demand has been basically met, sporadic transactions or sporadic, the price is weak and stable.

Therefore, SMM estimates that the demand for cobalt in China's lithium-ion battery terminal industry will be 24000 tons in 2020. It is estimated that the demand for cobalt in China's lithium-ion battery terminal industry from 2021 to 2022 will be 26000 tons and 29000 tons respectively, and the demand for cobalt will increase.