[SMM Weekly Review] Second-Life Application Market Prices Held Steady, Raw Material Price Transmission Lagged, Strong Wait-and-See Sentiment Among Downstream Players

Published: May 7, 2026 16:39

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The second-life battery market maintained overall stable prices this week. Cost side, spot lithium carbonate surged significantly this week with notable gains, nickel sulphate continued its gradual rise, while cobalt sulphate traded sideways and held steady. Raw material futures showed clear divergence, with lithium carbonate leading the gains and pushing up overall lithium battery raw material costs, also laying potential support for subsequent second-life battery cell pricing. Supply side, shipments from various producers remained at a steady pace, with no significant changes in circulating supply in the market. Although lithium carbonate rose strongly after the holiday, there was a time lag in the transmission of raw material costs to the second-life battery market. Current price negotiations remained concentrated in the upstream raw material segment, and second-life battery enterprises largely maintained stable quotes without raising prices in line with raw materials. Demand side, the continued surge in lithium carbonate pushed up costs, significantly dampening downstream purchasing sentiment and restocking willingness. In addition, concentrated stockpiling had already taken place before the Labour Day holiday, and most enterprises currently held sufficient inventory to support turnover. With no plan to make just-in-time procurement in the short term, a strong wait-and-see atmosphere prevailed across the market, with transactions mostly consisting of small, as-needed orders.

SMM May 7 update:

Second-life application weekly overview:

The second-life battery market maintained overall stable pricing this week. Cost side, spot lithium carbonate surged significantly this week with notable gains, nickel sulphate continued its gradual rise, and cobalt sulphate traded sideways and remained stable. Raw material futures showed clear divergence, with lithium carbonate leading the gains and pushing up overall lithium battery raw material costs, laying potential support for subsequent second-life battery cell pricing. Supply side, producers maintained a steady pace of second-life battery shipments, with no significant changes in circulating supply in the market. Although lithium carbonate rose strongly after the holiday, there was a time lag in the transmission of raw material costs to the second-life battery market. Current price negotiations remained concentrated in the upstream raw material segment, and second-life application enterprises largely maintained stable quotes without raising prices in line with raw materials. Demand side, the continued surge in lithium carbonate pushed up costs, significantly suppressing downstream purchasing sentiment and restocking willingness. Additionally, concentrated stockpiling before the Labour Day holiday meant most enterprises currently held sufficient inventory to support turnover, with no plan to make just-in-time procurement in the short term. The market was dominated by a strong wait-and-see atmosphere, with transactions mostly consisting of small orders on an as-needed basis.

Overall, the second-life application market remained largely stable this week. Although raw material costs rose in tandem, the transmission pace was slow and upstream price negotiations had not yet passed through to the battery cell segment. Meanwhile, downstream inventory was sufficient and enterprises resisted purchasing at high prices. Wait-and-see sentiment dominated the market, and second-life battery cell prices were expected to continue their stable trajectory.

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.

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