November Separator Market Watch: Rush to Export Meets Tight Supply

During the holiday, China's separator market operated steadily, with prices holding firm. Demand side, EV and ESS provided dual drivers, further catalyzed by the rush to export. For EV, the auto market entered the year-end push for annual targets, battery cell manufacturers kept production schedules high, and the rollout of large-format cell capacity continued to drive the shift from 7μm to 5μm. For energy storage, robust utility-scale energy storage demand in China and overseas tightened supply of 9μm products. In addition, the battery export tax rebate will be fully eliminated from January 1, 2027, prompting EV and ESS battery cells to accelerate production schedules and deliveries within the export window. Some 2027 overseas demand was pulled forward into Q4, further boosting separator procurement volume. Supply-side constraints remained unchanged—wet-process capacity utilization rate stayed above 90%, inventory absorption cycle was less than one month, giving separator manufacturers a solid basis to hold prices firm. In our assessment, after the holiday the market enters a critical Q4 window: the triple factors of EV year-end push, energy storage installation rush, and rush to export will drive end-user production schedules up MoM, further widening the separator shortage. It is worth noting that export rush demand carries a pull-forward nature, and demand may see a phased pullback in early 2027, which is the largest medium-term uncertainty.

SMM New Energy Industry Research Department

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lyu Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhang Haohan 021-51666752

Wang Zihan 021-51666914

Wang Jie 021-51595902

Xu Yang 021-51666760

Chen Bolin 021-51666836

Yang Le 021-51595898

Li Yisha 021-51666730