[SMM Weekly Review] New Regulation 4.1 Took Effect | The Lithium Battery Second-Life Application Market Remained Stable, Grade A Products Strengthened While Grade B Products Were Under Pressure, 2026.03.30-2026.04.02

Published: Apr 2, 2026 17:39

Save

This week, the overall second-life battery market for lithium battery Grade B products remained stable, while prices for warehouse A and Grade A products rose. On the cost side, lithium carbonate first increased and then declined, with evident fluctuations; nickel sulphate edged down slightly, while cobalt sulphate prices remained stable. On the supply side, battery cell capacity continued to be released, the EV sector carried out orderly stockpiling, demand in the ESS sector remained robust, and order shipments stayed at a high level. On the demand side, following the implementation of the new power battery regulations on April 1, the exclusive concept of second-life application was removed and uniformly brought under comprehensive utilization supervision, with strict control over the circulation of non-compliant products; the market showed structural divergence, with average demand from the EV sector, but strong demand for compliant orders in energy storage and outside China. In terms of product-grade price spreads: quotations for leading Grade A products with warranties approached those of new battery cells, while circulation of recycled materials and Grade B products remained weak and prices held flat, as they struggled to meet compliant procurement standards.

SMM, April 2:

Second-Life Application Recycling Market This Week:

This week, the overall second-life battery market for lithium battery B-grade products remained stable, while prices for warehouse A and A-grade products rose. On the cost side, lithium carbonate rose first and then fell, with pronounced fluctuations; nickel sulphate edged down slightly, while cobalt sulphate prices remained stable. On the supply side, battery cell capacity continued to release, the EV sector engaged in orderly stockpiling, demand in the ESS sector was robust, and order shipments remained at a high level. On the demand side, following the implementation of the new regulations for power batteries on April 1, the exclusive concept for second-life application was removed and uniformly brought under comprehensive utilization supervision, with non-compliant circulation strictly controlled; the market showed structural divergence, with average demand from the EV sector, while demand for compliant orders in energy storage and outside China remained strong. In terms of product-condition price spreads: quotations for top-tier A-grade products with warranties approached those of new battery cells, while circulation of recycled materials and B-grade products was weak and prices held steady due to difficulty in meeting compliant procurement standards.

Overall, the market operated with broadly stable prices in the short term: raw material fluctuations were unlikely to drive major adjustments in finished product prices, and supply-demand divergence persisted; prices for high-quality A-grade products remained firm, while B-grade products and low-end recycled materials were priced based on rigid demand, with limited change. The market mainly focused on compliance screening, replenishment on demand, and transactions at stable prices.

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

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

2 hours ago

Seres Q1 NEV Sales Exceeded 78,000 Units, up 43.9% YoY

On April 1, Seres released its March production and sales report. The data showed that Seres' NEV monthly sales reached 22,706 units in March, up 20.74% YoY; cumulative sales for January to March this year reached 78,500 units, up 43.9% YoY.

2 hours ago

BYD: Sold 300,222 Units in March

On April 1, BYD released its March sales data, with monthly sales of 300,222 units, passenger vehicle and pickup exports of 119,591 units, and cumulative NEV sales exceeding 15.8 million units.

2 hours ago

SAIC: 2025 Annual Net Profit Was 10.106 Billion yuan, up 506% YoY

On April 1, SAIC released its 2025 annual report, reporting operating revenue of 646.152 billion yuan, up 5.22% YoY; net profit attributable to shareholders of the publicly listed firm was 10.106 billion yuan, up 506.45% YoY. The company proposed a cash dividend of 2.66 yuan (tax included) for every 10 shares, totaling 3.039 billion yuan, with no conversion of capital reserves into share capital for this period.

2 hours ago