[SMM Weekly Review] Post-Holiday Work Resumption Meets Lithium Price Rise, Second-Life Application Market Stabilizes and Waits (2026.02.23-2026.02.26)

Published: Feb 26, 2026 17:39

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This week, the second-life application market operated steadily overall, with prices remaining stable. Cost side, influenced by the recovery in market sentiment after the holiday, spot lithium carbonate prices have been climbing continuously since the Chinese New Year holiday, showing a sharp upward trend, which has imposed certain cost pressures on second-life battery cells. Meanwhile, prices for nickel and cobalt salts remained stable, causing no additional disturbances to the cost side. Currently, both supply and demand are in a transitional phase just after the Chinese New Year holiday, with overall market activity relatively low. Supply side, most enterprises have not yet fully resumed full-capacity operations, and the willingness to sell remains relatively weak, leading to generally tight availability of spot cargo in the market. Demand side, directly impacted by the current high fluctuations in lithium chemical prices, downstream enterprises have generally adopted a cautious purchasing mindset, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment prevailing. Additionally, most enterprises in the market still hold a certain amount of inventory, sufficient to support daily production and operational needs, which is expected to last until around the Lantern Festival.

SMM February 26 News:

Second-life battery cells market this week:

This week, the second-life battery cells market overall stabilized, with prices remaining steady. Cost side, affected by the recovery in market sentiment after the holiday, spot lithium carbonate prices have been climbing since the Chinese New Year holiday, showing a sharp rise, creating some cost pressure on second-life battery cells. Meanwhile, nickel and cobalt salt prices remained stable, causing no additional disturbances on the cost side. Supply and demand are currently in a transitional phase just after the holiday, with overall market activity relatively low. Supply side, most enterprises have not yet fully resumed full operations, willingness to sell is relatively weak, and market supply is generally tight. Demand side, directly impacted by the current high fluctuations in lithium chemical prices, downstream enterprises' purchasing mentality is generally cautious, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment. At the same time, most enterprises currently hold certain inventory levels, sufficient to support daily production and operational needs, expected to last until around the Lantern Festival.

Overall, under the interplay of multiple factors such as weak supply and demand and lagging cost transmission, transactions in the second-life battery cells market remained sluggish this week. It is expected that after the Lantern Festival, with the full resumption of enterprises and the gradual return of market activity, the second-life battery cells market is anticipated to return to a normal transaction pace.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-5166-6838

Ma Rui 021-5159-5780

Feng Disheng 021-5166-6714

Lu Yanlin 021-2070-7875

Lei Yue 021-2070-7873

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