Market Review of Lithium Battery in August

SHANGHAI, Sep 19 (SMM) - 

Batteries: In August, the output of ternary battery in China was 20.7GWh, an increase of 5% from the previous month and an increase of 130% on the year. The output of LFP battery was 34.3GWh, an increase of 2% from the previous month and an increase of 175% on the year. On the supply side, the overall output of battery companies in August increased on the month as the production capacity of some leading battery companies continued to increase and the power battery orders increased. Among them, the growth of LFP battery output slowed down mainly because some of the leading battery companies and their suppliers were in Sichuan  were affected by the power rationing. On the demand side, the installed capacity of power battery in August increased by 15% on the month. The demand for new energy vehicles increased steadily in August. In addition, the demand of electronics and electric bicycle battery recovered slightly, mainly due to the decline in the prices of some battery cells. Meanwhile, as the terminal demand improved slightly, the overall battery market demand continued to pick up. The demand increased more significantly than supply in August, mainly due to the production reduction of battery and battery materials amid the power rationing. In September, downstream demand picks up steadily, and battery companies increase the production for Q4. Therefore, the growth rate of output may exceed the demand. The supply of LFP batteries recovers more significantly than that of ternary batteries. It is expected that the output of ternary battery will be 21.4GWh, up. 4% on the month, and the output of LFP battery will be 39.1GWh, an increase of 14% on the month. 

Anode: China’s anode material output was 121,590 mt in August, up 1% on the month and 75% on the year. On the supply side, in terms of natural graphite, the supply of flake graphite in Shandong and Luobei remained stable, and the supply of spherical graphite increased slightly as new production capacity was put into operation. In terms of artificial graphite, mainstream anode material producers maintained full capacity production, and the capacity of some manufacturers increased after new capacity was put into operation. However, due to the power cuts and production reduction in Sichuan, the overall supply of artificial graphite increased only slightly. On the demand side, the demand for new energy vehicles was strong. The orders from leading power battery factories increased significantly and the demand for energy storage improved. Therefore, the demand for low-end anode materials improved.  The demand for electronics was relatively modest with no obvious improvement. The overall demand continued to grow. In September, the demand further increases, and the capacity of some suppliers increased. However, due to the upcoming conference and the expectation of power cuts in Inner Mongolia, the overall supply may not increase significantly. The output of anode materials is expected to be 121,590 mt, flat from the previous month and up 67% on the year.