[SMM Weekly Review] Upstream Supply Disruptions Spread to Recycling Sector, Second-Life Application Prices Stable with Limited Upside Potential, 2025.10.6-2025.10.9

Published: Oct 9, 2025 16:18

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This week, market feedback indicates that uncertainties in the supply side, stemming from adjustments to cobalt export policies in the DRC, have further transmitted upstream to the recycling sector. Under the combined effect of these two factors, recycling enterprises have adopted a cautious wait-and-see approach toward current purchases, leading to an overall subdued market sentiment. This transmission has impacted the second-life battery cell market, where prices had already entered a phase of sustained slight increases. This trend has gradually driven the prices of popular second-life battery models to the upper limit of downstream enterprises' psychological expectations, resulting in largely stable prices around the National Day holiday. Meanwhile, amid the current tug-of-war between sellers and buyers, prices in the second-life battery market have entered a stable range without further fluctuations.

SMM Oct. 9 News:

Second-Life Application Market This Week:

According to market feedback this week, uncertainties in supply due to adjustments in cobalt export policies from the DRC have been transmitted upstream, further impacting the recycling sector. Combined with these two factors, recycling enterprises have adopted a cautious wait-and-see approach toward current purchases, leading to an overall low purchasing sentiment in the market. This has extended to the second-life battery cell market, where prices had already entered a phase of sustained slight increases. This trend has gradually pushed prices of popular second-life models to the upper limit of downstream enterprises' psychological expectations, resulting in largely stable prices around the National Day holiday. Meanwhile, amid the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers, prices in the second-life market have now entered a stable range without further fluctuations.

Based on the above analysis of the supply-demand pattern and upstream transmission logic, the overall demand in the second-life battery market is expected to remain relatively stable in the future. However, constrained by current high prices and limited room for cost transmission, the potential for further price increases is very narrow, and significant fluctuations are not anticipated.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lü Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711

Lei Yue 021-20707873

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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