SMM Cobalt Morning Meeting Summary: This week, the spot price of cobalt sulphate fell. Supply side, spot quotes for cobalt sulphate from smelters slightly loosened, and quotes from recyclers also declined. Demand side, downstream precursor plants showed weak acceptance of the current cobalt sulphate prices and had not yet initiated procurement actions; while Co3O4 enterprises were mainly in a wait-and-see sentiment, resulting in extremely sluggish spot transactions of cobalt sulphate recently. It is expected that next week, the spot price of cobalt sulphate may maintain a fluctuating trend.

[SMM Cobalt and Lithium Morning Meeting Summary: On Monday, the price of ternary cathode material continued to decline. In terms of raw materials, the prices of nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate remained stable, while the price of manganese sulphate decreased slightly. The prices of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide saw a significant drop. Demand side, the performance of the large NEV market was relatively mediocre. Despite some automakers achieving good sales, providing some support for ternary cathode material, the increase in demand was limited. The consumer and small power markets have recently received a large number of orders, especially from overseas markets. However, due to the limited size of the consumer market, the overall growth was not significant.

Recently, Honda R&D Co., Ltd. (China) (hereinafter referred to as "Honda China") and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) officially signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen their cooperation. Based on their existing cooperation, the two parties will further collaborate in new technology R&D, supply chain management, and other areas, driving product technology upgrades through innovation and injecting new momentum into the transformation of user experience. It is reported that, as a key focus of this deepened cooperation, the two parties will further engage in comprehensive upgraded cooperation in areas such as LFP batteries, CTB (Cell to Body) integration technology, supply chain optimization, and R&D of 12V and hybrid power batteries, to promote the upgrading of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry.

Among the top 10 companies in global (excluding China) power battery installations in Q1 2025, only Samsung SDI and Panasonic experienced a YoY decline, while the remaining eight companies all achieved positive YoY growth. Among them, BYD, Gotion High-tech, CALB, and Tesla all achieved triple-digit YoY growth.

According to official news from CATL, the Energy Storage System (ESS) and power battery production site of Shandong Amperex Technology Co., Limited (hereinafter referred to as "Shandong Amperex") was officially put into operation in Yanzhou District, Jining City recently. This is CATL's first production site in northern China and also the one with the largest capacity planned in the region so far.

BYD's share rose 1.83 percentage points in April from March, while CATL's fell 2.94 percentage points. China's overall power battery installations totaled 54.1 GWh in April, up 52.8 percent year-on-year but down 4.3 percent from March.