SMM November 20 News:
This week, the market price of electrolyte rose. The average prices of electrolyte for ternary power batteries, LFP, and LMO were 28,750 yuan/mt, 27,000 yuan/mt, and 21,250 yuan/mt, respectively. Cost side, the core raw material LiPF6 continued to face tight supply due to rising downstream demand. Meanwhile, the supply of key additives such as VC and FEC was even tighter, driven by growing market demand and reduced supply from maintenance shutdowns at some enterprises, which pushed up the prices of related raw materials significantly. Against this backdrop, some electrolyte enterprises had rigid restocking needs to ensure order fulfillment, leading them to accept some high-priced raw materials. This supported the price increase of upstream raw materials and raised electrolyte production costs, ultimately driving up electrolyte market prices. Demand side, battery cell manufacturers continued to see overall growth, boosting electrolyte market demand. Supply side, rising downstream demand drove higher operating rates at electrolyte enterprises, but tight raw material supply and high prices prompted some second- and third-tier enterprises to plan to reduce some low-priced orders. The main incremental supply came from top-tier enterprises with stable raw material supply channels or upstream integration. Considering the supply-demand pattern and cost-side pressure, as cost pressure on electrolyte enterprises continues to mount, electrolyte prices are expected to have further room to rise.
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
Xu Mengqi 021-20707868
Hu Xuejie 021-20707858
