Electrolyte prices remained stable this week (Jul. 20-23, 2026) [SMM Lithium Battery Electrolyte Market Weekly Review]

SMM, July 23:

Electrolyte prices remained stable this week, with average prices for ternary, LFP, and LMO electrolytes at 29,750 yuan/mt, 28,250 yuan/mt, and 22,150 yuan/mt, respectively. Cost side, spot lithium carbonate prices continued their downward trend this week, but lithium fluoride producers showed a strong willingness to hold prices firm and maintained conservative selling, resulting in relatively limited declines in quotes. For enterprises that produce LiPF6 by purchasing externally purchased lithium fluoride, downside room for raw material costs was relatively small. Meanwhile, influenced by market news and expectations of subsequent demand support, electrolyte enterprises increased their purchase willingness recently. Coupled with already low inventory levels at LiPF6 producers, market prices edged up. The additive sector remained strong, with downstream demand continuing to expand. However, production unit maintenance and temporary shutdowns at some VC producers led to a phased contraction in effective industry supply, further intensifying the supply-demand tightness and pushing spot VC prices higher again. That said, there is a time lag in the transmission of raw material cost pressure to the electrolyte end-use sector, keeping electrolyte prices stable recently. Supply and demand side, although the industry was in the traditional off-season for sales, power battery enterprises balanced end-use demand with the Q3 peak season stockpiling pace, keeping overall production schedules on the rise. Demand for energy storage stayed high, with energy storage battery cell production growing steadily and forming a stable, rigid demand support. Electrolyte enterprises generally adopted a produce-based-on-sales model, with industry production rising in tandem. Overall, electrolyte price trends are closely linked to raw material costs. At the current stage, cost pressure from rising prices of core raw materials like VC is expected to be gradually transmitted downstream, supporting expectations for subsequent electrolyte price raises.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lyu Yanlin 021-20707875

Xu Mengqi 021-20707868

Hu Xuejie 021-20707858

Chen Bolin 021-51666836

Wang Yizhou 021-51595909