[SMM Weekly Review] Lithium Carbonate Pulls Back While Nickel Sulphate Rises, Second-Life Application Battery Cell Market Prices Remain Stable (2026.01.26-2026.01.29)

SMM January 29 News:

Second-life application this week:

This week, second-life battery cell prices remained stable with no significant fluctuations. In terms of costs, lithium carbonate prices began to pull back, while nickel sulphate showed a slight rise due to the increase in refined nickel prices. Cobalt sulphate prices stayed steady without noticeable changes. In terms of supply, as the month-end approached, shipments from battery cell manufacturers gradually pulled back, and the overall supply pace slowed down. On the demand side, downstream second-life battery producers had largely completed their stockpiling before the Chinese New Year, leading to more cautious procurement behavior. The procurement pace significantly slowed down, and the overall market transaction atmosphere was rather cold. The current market shows a simultaneous contraction in both supply and demand, with the reductions on both sides balancing each other out, keeping second-life battery cell prices stable.

In the short term, the overall market transaction activity is low, and the trading atmosphere is mediocre. The future price trend of second-life battery cells will primarily depend on the price fluctuations of key raw materials such as lithium carbonate. It will also be directly influenced by the stockpiling pace of downstream enterprises in the final stage before the Chinese New Year and the actual demand release from end-users.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lv Yanlin 021-20707875

Lei Yue 021-20707873