Ternary cathode material prices fell further this week [SMM Weekly Review of Ternary Cathode Material Market]

This week, the prices of ternary cathode materials continued to decline. On the raw material side, nickel sulphate prices rose slightly, while cobalt sulphate and manganese sulphate prices dropped back slightly. Lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices fell sharply, leading to an overall weakening of prices for various series of ternary cathode materials. Currently, the market supply mainly relies on long-term contracts signed previously, with some companies having raised the relevant discount coefficients. In terms of spot order transactions, manufacturers generally settle accounts by negotiating discounts separately for raw materials such as nickel sulphate, cobalt sulphate, and lithium carbonate.

In terms of production and order execution, the overall demand for high-performance ternary cathode materials for NEVs remained relatively stable, but there were certain adjustments in the market share of different series of products. High-nickel content remains the long-term development direction for ternary cathode materials, although the pace of advancement has slowed down. Benefiting from the dual advantages of cost and performance, medium-nickel high-voltage products have recently gained more market attention. In the next six months, 6-series ternary cathode materials may squeeze the market share of 8-series materials. Orders for consumer and small power ternary cathode materials have performed well recently, driven by two main factors: first, the seasonal increase in demand for consumer products; second, the accelerated transformation of downstream products such as power tools towards high-endization, driving the growth in demand for high-performance ternary cathode materials. In terms of price trends, it is expected that nickel salt and cobalt salt prices will rise mildly in the future, while lithium chemical prices may still weaken sharply. The prices of ternary cathode materials may continue to decline further due to the influence of fluctuations in raw material prices.

SMM New Energy Industry Research Department

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lv Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711

Zhang Haohan 021-51666752

Wang Zihan 021-51666914

Wang Jie 021-51595902

Xu Yang 021-51666760

Chen Bolin 021-51666836

Yang Le 021-51595898