[SMM Weekly Review] Dual Drivers of Cost and Demand, Second-Life Application Ternary B-Grade Products Bullish (October 27-30, 2025)

Published: Oct 30, 2025 16:16

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This week in the second-life battery market, LFP B-grade prices remained stable, while ternary high C-rate, low ampere-hour B-grade specifications showed an upward trend. Cost side, cobalt salt prices remained steady, while lithium chemicals prices rose significantly due to demand boost. Supply side, driven by factors such as the release of year-end installation rush demand in the ESS market and an increase in overseas orders, coupled with sustained growth in the EV sector, demand for battery cells continued to climb, leading to a certain reduction in the supply scale of the second-life battery market. Demand side, upstream raw material prices generally remained high, and downstream markets had long relied on just-in-time procurement. At the same time, the impact of previous cobalt salt price increases gradually transmitted to the end-use market, against which some enterprises showed increased acceptance of price hikes, boosting ternary B-grade prices this week.

SMM October 30 News:

Second-Life Application This Week:

This week in the second-life battery market, LFP B-grade prices remained stable, while ternary high C-rate low ampere-hour B-grade specifications showed an upward trend. Cost side, cobalt salt prices remained stable this week, while lithium chemicals prices rose significantly, boosted by demand. Supply side, driven by factors in the end-use market such as demand release from the year-end ESS installation rush and increased overseas orders, coupled with sustained demand growth in the EV sector, battery cell market demand continued to climb, leading to a certain degree of reduction in the supply scale of the second-life market. Demand side, upstream raw material prices are generally at high levels, and the downstream market had long focused on just-in-time procurement; meanwhile, the impact of previous cobalt salt price increases has gradually transmitted to the end-use market. Against this backdrop, some enterprises have shown increased acceptance of price rises, pushing ternary B-grade prices upward this week.

Considering the current supply-demand pattern and cost transmission, although there is a certain degree of supply tightness in the market at this stage, short-term trends suggest overall demand in the second-life market will remain relatively stable, limiting the room for price increases and preventing significant fluctuations in the short term. However, given the lag in cost transmission, the impact of the current cobalt price increase has begun to transmit to the terminal second-life application segment. Consequently, ternary B-grade battery cell prices are expected to see a certain increase in the near term.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Cong Wang 021-51666838

Rui Ma 021-51595780

Disheng Feng 021-51666714

Yanlin Lü 021-20707875

Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711

Yue Lei 021-20707873

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