Second-life application market remained stable this week, with category divergence and dismantled products under pressure [SMM weekly review]

Published: Sep 10, 2026 16:30

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This week, the second-life battery market operated steadily overall, with limited fluctuations in quotations across categories and a generally subdued trading atmosphere. Cost side, raw materials weakened overall, with divergent trends across categories. This week, lithium carbonate prices saw a notable decline, cobalt sulphate broke its previous stable trend and began to pull back, while nickel sulphate prices remained basically stable, edging down only slightly. Cost support from raw materials continued to weaken, but due to the lag in industry chain transmission, this week's raw material fluctuations have not yet been significantly passed through to second-life finished products. Supply side, the pace of shipments continued to recover, with circulation order gradually returning to normal. Market shipments extended the previous recovery trend, and as industry compliance gradually improved, the circulation pace of second-life supply steadily returned to normal. Battery cell supply across categories recovered to normal levels, with no extreme situations such as concentrated releases or supply tightening. Demand side, category divergence persisted. LFP battery cell demand remained stable and continued to serve as the core support of the market; ternary battery cell demand remained mediocre, with weak downstream purchase willingness and lacklustre follow-through in transactions. Meanwhile, the trend of dismantled supply flowing to the recycling segment continued, exerting some pressure on second-life market prices. Prices of dismantled products still have downside room, but supported by rigid demand, the overall stable pattern of the short-term market has not yet been broken. Overall, the current market faces both supporting and pressuring factors. Weakening costs and demand divergence are creating price pressure, while rigid demand is underpinning the market bottom. The second-life battery market is expected to maintain a stable operating trend in the short term.

SMM, September 10:

Second-life application this week:

The second-life battery market remained generally stable this week, with limited fluctuations in quotations across categories and an overall subdued trading atmosphere. On the cost side, raw materials weakened overall, with divergent trends by category. Lithium carbonate prices fell notably this week, cobalt sulphate broke its earlier stability and began to pull back, and nickel sulphate prices were basically stable with only a slight edge down. Cost support from raw materials continued to weaken, but due to the lag in industry chain transmission, this week's raw material fluctuations have not yet been substantially passed through to second-life finished products. On the supply side, the pace of shipments continued to recover, and circulation order gradually returned to normal. Market shipments extended the previous recovery trend, and as industry compliance gradually improved, the circulation pace of second-life supply steadily returned to normal. Battery cell supply across categories returned to normal levels, with no extreme situations such as concentrated volume releases or tightening supply. On the demand side, category divergence persisted. LFP battery cell demand remained stable and continued to be the core support of the market; ternary battery cell demand stayed mediocre, with weak downstream purchase willingness and limited follow-through in transactions. Meanwhile, the trend of dismantled supply flowing to the recycling sector continued, exerting some pressure on second-life market prices. Prices of dismantled products still have downside room, but supported by rigid demand, the overall stable pattern of the market has not yet been broken in the short term. Overall, supportive and pressuring factors coexist in the current market. Weakening costs and divergent demand are creating price pressure, while rigid demand is underpinning the market bottom. The second-life battery market is expected to maintain a stable operating trend in the short term.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lyu 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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