[SMM Analysis] A Review of Recent Tiered Price Trends, 2024-12-30–2025-1-3

SMM January 3 News: This week, the price of waste batteries for cascade utilization continued to decline. Supply side, on the battery manufacturers' end, due to the recent robust demand for power and ESS batteries, overall battery production remained high, resulting in a significant increase in the production of cascade A- and B-grade batteries during the manufacturing process. On the NEV aftermarket side, the replacement of batteries in NEVs sold after 2018 has gradually increased recently, and the number of waste batteries for cascade utilization from buses across various regions has also risen. Both sources have contributed to the overall increase in the supply of waste batteries for cascade utilization. Demand side, due to recent policy impacts, the use of waste batteries for cascade utilization is no longer recommended for electric bicycles, leading to a certain decrease in overall demand. In current application scenarios, demand for streetlights is relatively low, and the requirements for waste batteries for cascade utilization are not high, allowing for the use of lower-priced C-grade batteries. However, in small power and larger ESS projects, A-grade batteries are more frequently used for cascade utilization due to their better quality and the narrowing price gap between A- and B-grade batteries. B-grade batteries are mainly applied in smaller ESS projects, where their role is relatively marginal, ultimately leading to a decline in their prices. It is expected that the price of cascade B-grade batteries may continue to decrease under the current circumstances.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Cong Wang 021-51666838

Rui Ma 021-51595780

Disheng Feng 021-51666714

Ying Xu 021-51666707

Yanlin Lü 021-20707875

Yujun Liu 021-20707895

Xiaodan Yu 021-20707870

Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711

He Zhang 021-20707850