Chaoyang Jinda Completes 20,000-ton Aerospace-Grade Sponge Titanium Project, Aims for 2028 Full Operation

[SMM Magnesium Weekly Review: Weak Supply and Demand Dominated Magnesium Price Trends, with Structural Divergence Across Segments] This week, trends across various products in China’s magnesium industry chain diverged, while the overall market maintained a core tone of stability with rangebound fluctuations. The stalemate in market supply and demand became more pronounced, with insufficient momentum for a unilateral market move. The upstream dolomite market remained stable. Although a top-tier enterprise in the Wutai region suspended production, ample raw material inventory in place and timely capacity replenishment in major producing areas, coupled with the steady pace of just-in-time procurement by primary magnesium enterprises, kept prices stable without fluctuations. As the core product, magnesium ingot prices in China’s main producing areas consolidated at high levels, and mainstream transaction prices remained stable. Market transactions showed mediocre performance, producers had strong sentiment to hold back sales, and under the pattern of weak supply and demand, quotations fluctuated rangebound. On the foreign trade side, FOB quotations loosened slightly. As ocean freight rates pulled back, inquiries from outside China recovered somewhat, and there were expectations for more long-term orders. Supported by raw materials and boosted by incoming foreign trade orders, the magnesium powder market saw firm quotations and held up well. Industry operating rates gradually recovered in March, and support from the demand side became increasingly evident. Magnesium alloy market prices overall remained stable. On the supply side, with top-tier enterprises resuming operations and newly added capacity gradually coming online and releasing volume, downstream buyers mainly focused on just-in-time restocking, presenting a pattern of strong supply and weak demand. Prices are expected to remain in the doldrums going forward. Looking across the entire industry chain, there have been no major changes in current market fundamentals, and in the short term, the market will still likely be dominated by steady fluctuations and localized marginal adjustments.

Russia’s Solikamsk Magnesium Works recently launched industrialised production of magnesium alloys containing rare earth elements such as neodymium, cerium, and lanthanum. The products combine lightweight properties with high strength and are mainly targeted at sectors including aerospace and automotive manufacturing. The plant accounts for 100% of Russia’s rare earth compound production and 75% of its magnesium capacity, and this capacity expansion further consolidates its position in the strategic metals sector. Meanwhile, the “magnesium-based hydrogen slurry” technology developed by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute has sparked controversy. Independent analysis indicated that the technology’s overall system efficiency is only about 10, its energy density is comparable to that of lithium batteries, its cost is far higher than expectations, and its recycling chain has yet to form a closed loop. It is only suitable for demonstration scenarios at the hundred-watt level and is unlikely to achieve commercial application. The two pieces of news reflect the different technological pathways and industrialisation prospects of magnesium-based materials in high-end manufacturing and energy storage.

[SMM Magnesium Express] Fraunhofer's "Powerpaste" magnesium hydride hydrogen storage technology faces critical analysis. Producing 1kg H₂ requires ~10kg paste and 9kg pure water, with upstream magnesium production consuming 80-110 kWh electricity. Full system energy density comparable to batteries but efficiency only ~10%, with extremely low power output and complex thermal management. The technology remains chemically interesting but thermodynamically challenged, unable to scale beyond tiny demonstration systems.