New Energy News Roundup

SHANGHAI, Apr 26 (SMM) – A weekly update on the trending stories from the New Energy sector.

Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology ‘s 70,000 mt high nickel cathode project

Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology (South Korea) held a ground-breaking ceremony for the 70,000 mt of high nickel cathode project on April 21, marking the official launch of the Korean capacity expansion project and an key milestone in the company's global production capacity layout. The company has ranked first in China's high-nickel ternary material shipments for many years. Total production capacity of the Korean project is planned to produce 70,000 mt/year which will be officially completed by December 2025. And the first phase will be established at the end of 2021. The company has also accelerated the expansion of production capacity in Hubei and Guizhou. Production capacity of high nickel ternary cathode materials is expected to stand at over 120,000 mt by end-2021.

The total production capacity of ternary materials at Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology currently stands at 45,000 mt/year in China, of which high-nickel ternary materials capacity stands at 37,000 mt/year, ranking first in China. Chungcheongbuk-do is the region with the highest lithium battery production in South Korea where boasts a unique supply advantage, thereby enhancing the company's leading role in the high-nickel material segment. The company has deployed precursors, lithium battery recycling materials, and waste resource recovery in South Korea. The construction of cathode base will help to build the lithium battery recycling industry chain in South Korea and deepen its partnership with customers in Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States. It is of great significance to enhance the company's competitiveness in the global new energy lithium battery material industry.

Huawei’s smartphone for pure electric luxury smart electric car launched

BAIC Alpha S (Huawei hi version), the first Huawei phone inside pure electric luxury smart electric car, was released in Shanghai on 17 April. It adopts Huawei fast charging technology, charging for 10 minutes and driving for 197 km. Its smart cockpit is equipped with Hongmeng OS operating system, with a starting price of 281,900 yuan and a maximum price of 344,900 yuan. Huawei's H1 version starts at 388,900 yuan, while the high configuration version starts at 429,900 yuan.

It is understood that ARCFOX Alpha S released this time was jointly developed by BAIC and Huawei. Xu Zhijun, a rotating chairman of Huawei, indicated that the Chinese tech giant had no plan to manufacture autos, but aims to "help car companies build good cars" and positioned it as a supplier of digital components to carmakers. Regarding the next strategic layout, Huawei also stated that it has invested more than $1 billion in the smart car business will conduct in-depth cooperation with major car companies overseas.

Lithium hexafluorophosphate prices skyrocketed by 30,000 yuan/mt

Do-fluoride Chemicals announced that the price of lithium hexafluorophosphate, an important raw material in the electrolyte, has been increased by 30,000 yuan/mt, and the price of international customers has also increased about $4,500/mt.

The raw materials of electrolyte can be divided into three categories in general - solutes, solvents and functional additives. The solute is dominated by lithium hexafluorophosphate. Its consumption in the electrolyte only accounts for 18%, but the cost accounts for more than 40% of the total, and the proportion at some manufacturers even reaches 55%. Therefore, the fluctuation of lithium hexafluorophosphate has a great impact on the overall price of the electrolyte. Electrolyte prices are expected to remain high as lithium hexafluorophosphate prices continued to rise, while the shortage of raw materials such as VC additives remained, coupled with imbalance of supply and demand of the electrolyte.

For more information on the China New Energy industry please subscribe to China Cobalt and Lithium Weekly Report. We warmly welcome you to attend SMM’s 6th China International LiCoNi Summit on 20-21 May 2021 held at Changsha, Hunan. You can also participate in this event online. Please contact us to find out more.