On the afternoon of May 13rd, Shantai Technology (001301) stated at the annual performance briefing that in 2023, the overall growth level of NEV power batteries and energy storage batteries remained high. However, the overall growth in the anode materials industry, where the company is located, has slowed down. Due to the sustained high prosperity of the industry in previous years, a large number of enterprises have been attracted to cross-industry investments, and major companies in the industry have continued to expand their production capacity. The overall capacity of the industry remains at a high level. With the slowdown in market demand growth, some homogeneous products cannot maintain their original price levels, leading to a situation where the industry as a whole experiences "increased volume but decreased revenue."
Looking ahead to 2024, Shantai Technology stated that the supply side of lithium battery anode materials is still in a state of structural overcapacity. However, as the destocking of the NEV industry comes to an end, the situation of slowing demand growth will improve, and market demand is expected to rebound. The prices of anode materials are expected to see some recovery in 2024, and the sales of anode materials are expected to increase.
Shangtai Technology also mentioned that the current anode material prices are at a historical low, with limited room for further decline. From the perspective of the industry chain, while anode material prices are decreasing, the costs of raw materials and graphite processing have also decreased. The company will continue its policy of "cost reduction and efficiency improvement," internally enhancing technical processes and optimizing production procedures to drive cost reduction and efficiency improvement, striving to increase the company's profitability in the fierce market competition.
In terms of technology, Shantai Technology stated that silicon-carbon anode materials are one of the company's key research and development directions for 2024. Currently, differentiated technological routes such as silicon-carbon anode materials and hard carbon anode materials for sodium-ion batteries are in the early stages of industrialisation, and the company has not yet set up related production lines. However, the company has accumulated certain technical expertise in silicon-carbon anode materials and will continue to increase corresponding R&D investment and product layout in 2024. There are certain differences in the production process compared to graphite anode materials. The company will engage in extensive cooperation with research institutions and external organizations, continuously recruit talent, and at the appropriate time, attempt to build production lines to achieve mass production breakthroughs for the corresponding products.
