The price of electrolyte declined this week (May 19-22, 2025) [SMM Weekly Review of Lithium Electrolyte Market]

SMM, May 22:

This week, the price of electrolytes has declined. Specifically, the average prices of electrolytes for ternary NEV batteries, LFP batteries, and LMO batteries have fallen to 22,050 yuan/mt, 18,100 yuan/mt, and 14,600 yuan/mt, respectively. Cost side, the price of LiPF6, a core raw material, has decreased due to lower costs and no significant growth in demand. Additionally, the prices of solvents and additives have also slightly declined, leading to an overall reduction in the manufacturing costs of electrolytes. Demand side, despite the rollback of US tariffs on China, this policy change has not yet effectively translated into increased demand for electrolytes in the market. Downstream customers, maintaining a cautious outlook on market prospects, continue to adopt conservative production and stockpiling strategies, adhering to the principle of "purchasing as needed." This has resulted in a persistent lack of growth momentum in market demand, making it difficult to significantly boost the industry chain. Supply side, major companies in the industry are continuously deepening their "produce based on sales" operational model. Despite the prolonged low prices of electrolytes, some companies are actively avoiding orders with excessively low prices and significant losses to control costs and reduce deficits. However, due to the prominent issue of overcapacity in the industry, other companies are still willing to sell at short-term losses in an attempt to seize market share. Overall, it is challenging to achieve substantial improvements in the industry's supply-demand relationship in the short term. Given the lack of strong positive factors to stimulate the market, it is expected that electrolyte prices will continue to fluctuate rangebound in the coming period.

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