The price of electrolyte remained stable this week (2025.5.12-5.15) [SMM Weekly Review of Lithium Electrolyte Market]

SMM, May 15:

This week, the price of electrolyte remained stable. The average prices of electrolytes for ternary NEV batteries, LFP batteries, and LMO batteries were 22,150 yuan/mt, 18,200 yuan/mt, and 14,650 yuan/mt, respectively. Cost side, the prices of core raw materials, including LiPF6 and additives, declined, leading to a reduction in the overall manufacturing cost of electrolytes. Demand side, the downstream new energy battery market showed signs of recovery. However, downstream customers generally maintained a cautious approach to production and stockpiling, adhering to the principle of purchasing as needed. This resulted in insufficient momentum in overall market demand, making it difficult to generate a significant boosting effect on the industry chain. Supply side, major enterprises in the industry continued to deepen the "produce based on sales" operational model, flexibly adjusting capacity according to actual market demand. However, with electrolyte prices remaining low for an extended period, corporate profit margins were severely squeezed. Some enterprises, considering cost control and loss mitigation, proactively avoided orders with excessively low prices and significant losses, resulting in a low overall operating rate in the industry. Based on a comprehensive assessment, considering that a substantial improvement in the supply-demand relationship is unlikely in the short term and the industry lacks strong stimulating factors, it is expected that electrolyte prices will continue to fluctuate rangebound for a period of time in the future.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lv Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711

Xu Mengqi 021-20707868

Hu Xuejie 021-20707858