Central Government to Support Development of Sodium-ion Batteries

A profound transformation in technical routes is unfolding in the sodium-ion battery sector. In the early stages of industry development, layered oxide sodium-ion battery technology, leveraging its theoretical advantage of high energy density and aiming to "replace lithium batteries," became the mainstream direction highly favored across the sodium-ion battery industry chain.

At the beginning of this week, the industry chain remained in the doldrums overall. Refined cobalt prices were temporarily stable, with mainstream smelters maintaining Ex-works prices at 285,000 yuan/mt, but downstream procurement remained mostly just-in-time, and sustained restocking had yet to materialise. Quotes and transactions for intermediate products were scarce, and sales pressure on miners gradually built up. Cobalt sulphate demand was weak, with some recycling enterprises lowering quotes to 57,000–58,000 yuan/mt. Raw material prices and production costs moved down in tandem, and the negative feedback loop in the market continued. Transactions for cobalt chloride and Co3O4 were sluggish, and downstream stockpiling interest ahead of the holiday was insufficient, with demand improvement likely having to wait until November. In the cobalt powder market, downstream purchases continued to be postponed due to high-priced inventory and losses. Ternary cathode precursor prices weakened, and operating rates at some enterprises declined. The decline in ternary cathode material prices slowed, but EV market demand had yet to rebound. The traditional peak season for LCO underperformed expectations, with weakening cost support and sluggish end-user stockpiling, leaving short-term prices still exposed to further downside risk. Going forward, the market will focus on post-holiday procurement recovery, inventory destocking, and actual Q4 orders.

Lithium ore prices remained resilient relative to lithium carbonate this week, with limited selling pressure from the mining side, but salt plant margins continued to be squeezed and acceptance of high-priced raw materials declined. Overseas shipments and domestic supply recovered marginally, though the actual release of incremental volumes still needs time. Lithium carbonate futures rebounded, spot prices edged up, and lithium hydroxide recovered in tandem, but downstream buyers turned cautious after dip-buying, slowing the pace of transactions. Trading in refined cobalt and intermediate products was sluggish, demand for cobalt sulphate, cobalt chloride, and Co3O4 was weak, and destocking pressure persisted. Nickel sulphate remained under pressure, and orders for ternary cathode precursors and ternary cathode materials weakened; LFP production rose and inventory was destocked, while new order prices for iron phosphate edged up. Anode prices were generally stable, separator prices edged up, and the electrolyte market held steady for now. Sodium-ion battery orders concentrated toward leading players, and recycled raw material prices continued to move lower. With the dual holidays approaching, spot order purchases across the industry chain declined, and the market is expected to remain divergent in the short term. In the ESS sector, overseas projects shifted to price negotiations for the coming year, and the cost advantages of large battery cells also pushed some quotes lower.