1.5GWh! Cospower Technology's Sodium-Ion Battery Production Line Project Commences in Changde, Hunan Province

The industry chain remained in a weak bargaining phase this week, with upstream players holding prices firm while downstream buyers pushed for lower prices. Overseas miners acquired low-priced intermediate products, providing some support to the price floor, but the psychological price gap between buyers and sellers remained wide, limiting actual transactions. The sulphate market came under pressure from low-priced deals outside China and lower costs, with downstream purchase willingness subdued as the market awaited the release of stockpiling demand during the September-October peak season. The powder market also consolidated at lows, with downstream cemented carbide orders weak and spot transactions sluggish. Ternary cathode precursors continued to weaken under soft raw material prices and pressure on order coefficients, while top-tier producers saw relatively better export orders. Ternary cathode materials staged a phased rebound as lithium chemical prices recovered, but domestic power demand was weaker than expected, leaving subsequent production schedules facing downward pressure. The supply-demand pattern for LCO showed limited improvement, with peak season effects yet to materialize clearly. On the policy front, measures to support automobile consumption continued to advance, which is expected to provide some support for end-use demand, but a genuine stabilization of the industry chain still hinges on downstream concentrated procurement and an improvement in actual demand.

This week, the industry chain as a whole exhibited an operating pattern of “upstream consolidation, divergent performance in materials, and improving demand expectations.” Lithium ore prices continued to consolidate at highs, with miners still holding prices firm, but smelting margins were squeezed, and salt producers’ procurement gradually returned to rigid demand; lithium carbonate pulled back after shooting up, with supply growth driven by salt lake production resumptions, while downstream stockpiling on dips provided support for prices. The cobalt market was generally weak, with a wide price spread between buying and selling prices for intermediate products; cobalt sulphate and cobalt powder prices remained under pressure, and actual transactions were still sluggish. Materials showed divergent performance: ternary cathode material prices weakened as raw materials pulled back, while LFP continued to rise on higher costs and robust orders, with industry supply still tight. Anode prices held steady, separators stayed rangebound, and electrolyte costs moved higher, driven by price increases in LiPF6, additives, and solvents. As the “September-October peak season” approaches, stockpiling and production schedule expectations improved in certain segments, but the market still needs to watch raw material price fluctuations, capacity releases, and the fulfilment of end-user orders.

This week, the cobalt industry chain as a whole remained in the doldrums, with prices of some products continuing to edge lower. Refined cobalt was supported by overseas miners’ purchases of low-priced intermediate products; futures stopped falling and rebounded, but downstream consumption was still in the off-season, and spot transactions saw only limited improvement. Divergence between buyers and sellers of cobalt intermediate products was pronounced, with downstream purchasing interest clearly shifting lower; the average SMM cobalt intermediate product price fell to $19/lb. Cobalt sulphate was affected by low-priced deals outside China and weakening cost support, with the average price dropping to 71,000 yuan/mt; cobalt chloride and Co3O4 were broadly in the doldrums. The cobalt powder market continued to grind lower, with the average price falling to 420,000 yuan/mt, as downstream demand from the cemented carbide sector remained weak. On the cathode material side, ternary cathode precursor and ternary cathode material prices were under pressure; export orders were relatively better, but growth in China demand was limited. LCO supply and demand remained weak, and inventory destocking was slow. With the traditional peak season approaching, the market focused on whether stockpiling in September could drive a recovery in demand; in the short term, price stabilization still needed to wait for signals of concentrated procurement. The English translation of the above text is: