Tests confirm battery-grade cobalt sulphate at NICO project in Northwest Territories

On February 28, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially released the list of enterprises (ninth batch) that meet the "Lithium-ion Battery Industry Standard Conditions," known as the Lithium Battery White List. A total of 36 enterprises are included in this batch. Among them, energy storage battery manufacturers include Ganfeng LiEnergy, Yichun Gotion, and Zhongqi Xinneng Qingdao. Other enterprises on the list are categorized into power batteries, cathode materials, anode materials, separators, and consumer batteries, among others.

On February 27, 2026, solid-state battery projects from Dejia Energy (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Yuanchen Hangneng Technology Development Co., Ltd., both enterprises in the Lingang Blue Bay Park, were signed. Dejia Energy's Lingang project plans to construct a 3GWh solid-state battery production line in two phases, which will help upgrade Lingang from a traditional lithium battery manufacturing base to a highland for the industrialization of next-generation battery technologies. Shanghai Yuanchen Hangneng's project focuses on core solid-state electrolyte technologies and is dedicated to the research, development, and production of high-energy-density, high-safety all-solid-state lithium batteries. Equipment commissioning and production are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Chilean lithium producer SQM announced that its Q4 net profit increased due to favorable market conditions which raised the average price of lithium and thus boosted performance. The world's second-largest lithium miner stated that its Q4 net profit was $183.8 million up 53% YoY. Revenue for the quarter grew by 23.3% reaching $1.32 billion compared to $1.07 billion in the same period last year. Gross profit for the quarter rose 52.7% to $448.5 million. SQM CEO Ramos said, "Our Q4 2025 results reflect record sales from our two major lithium businesses (Nova Andino Litio and the International Lithium Division)." "In November 2025, we began to see early signs of an improving supply-demand balance primarily driven by stronger-than-expected ESS demand."