The price of some upstream raw materials for lithium batteries has increased by more than 200% from the beginning of the year

Since the beginning of this year, the market for new energy vehicles and lithium batteries has continued to be hot, and the prices of upstream raw materials for lithium batteries have risen rapidly. Among them, the cathode material is the most critical raw material for lithium batteries, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide. At present, lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, electrolyte, etc. have all increased to varying degrees, and some raw materials have increased by more than 200% compared with the beginning of this year.

Overloaded production of enterprises, the price of lithium battery raw materials has reached new highs

In a lithium carbonate manufacturer in Yichun, Jiangxi Province, the machine roared in the workshop. The white powder that was just produced on the screen was the lithium carbonate used in the cathode material of lithium batteries. The person in charge told reporters that the battery-grade lithium carbonate they produce currently has an annual production capacity of about 10,000 tons, and has been in a state of overload production this year.

Liu Huafeng, general manager of the lithium carbonate division of a new energy technology company in Yongxing, Jiangxi, told reporters that the price of lithium carbonate products has continued to rise this year, and the price has changed almost every day in the recent period. The current battery-grade lithium carbonate price is close to 190,000. In the past month, the price has risen by more than 50%. Compared with the price of around 57,000 yuan per ton at the beginning of the year, the increase has been as high as 233%. Since the beginning of this year, the entire raw material has fluctuated greatly, and the current lithium carbonate platform price will increase by about 3,000 yuan per ton per day.

In addition to lithium carbonate, the prices of other key raw materials for lithium batteries have also risen sharply. The current battery-grade lithium hydroxide price is 174,000 CNY/ton, an increase of 41% in the past month, an increase of 235% from the price of 52,000 yuan at the beginning of the year. The current price of ternary conventional power electrolyte is 120,000 CNY/ton, an increase of more than 14% in the past month, which is a 150% increase from the price of 48,000 yuan at the beginning of the year.

Zhou Tianyu, an analyst in the lithium battery industry of an information company, said that all kinds of raw materials for lithium batteries are currently rising almost across the board. Lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide have broken through the highest prices in history. It is expected that the prices of these raw materials will remain high in the fourth quarter. run.

Downstream demand surges, lithium battery raw materials are "hard to find"

　　
Lithium batteries are widely used in electronic products, power storage, and new energy vehicles. Since the beginning of this year, while prices have continued to rise, "difficult to find a single product" has become the current status of raw material procurement by lithium battery companies. Many raw material manufacturers have placed orders for next year.

　　
Xiao Zhimin is the marketing manager of a lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide manufacturer in Jiangxi. When the reporter met him, he was calling customers of downstream lithium battery manufacturers. He told reporters that he can receive at least 60 to 70 per day. A phone call for goods, but most of the time, he can't meet the customer's demand for goods.

Another key material for lithium batteries, electrolyte, is also very popular. In a Shenzhen company that produces electrolyte, the person in charge told reporters that their annual production capacity is currently 100,000 tons. Since the beginning of this year, their order volume has almost doubled. Some long-term contracts have been signed to the end of next year.

　　
Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that from January to August this year, the cumulative production and sales of my country's new energy (5.320, -0.22, -3.97%) vehicles reached 1.813 million and 1.799 million, respectively, a year-on-year increase of 1.9 times. The booming new energy vehicle market quickly drove the fiery industry chain of lithium batteries. Data show that in August, my country's power battery output totaled 19.5GWh (GWh), a year-on-year increase of 161.7% and a month-on-month increase of 12.3%.

　
Lithium battery industry analyst Zhou Tianyu said that September to October is currently an intensive procurement period for my country's new energy vehicles to stock up at the end of the year. It is expected that during this period, the overall market demand will increase again.

Lithium battery manufacturers have expanded production, and the supply of upstream raw materials is tight

　　
As optimistic about the development prospects of the lithium battery industry, in recent years, many companies have put expansion plans on the agenda. However, on the other hand, the reporter also learned that the supply of lithium battery raw materials is still facing tight conditions due to the concentration of lithium ore resources overseas.

　　
In a lithium battery manufacturer in Shenzhen, the person in charge told the reporter that they used to be mainly engaged in consumer electronic product batteries. Since then, their power battery orders have also increased significantly, and the strong market demand has also allowed them to accelerate the pace of expansion.

It is understood that since the beginning of this year, many power battery companies including CATL (504.660, 4.23, 0.85%), BYD (238.060, -8.80, -3.56%), and AVIC Lithium Battery have announced new expansion plans. The current plans are The new capacity of the company is more than 1000GWh (Gigawatt hours).

　　
The rapid increase in demand on the lithium battery side and the expected expansion of production have also exacerbated the tight supply of upstream raw materials. It is understood that the main raw materials of lithium batteries, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, are mainly spodumene ore. The world's spodumene mines are mainly concentrated in Australia and South America. Since 2020, affected by various factors such as the epidemic, lithium The production and expansion plans of mining companies have been restrained to a certain extent, and the global lithium mine resources are relatively tight, which also limits the production capacity of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.

At present, the domestic annual production capacity of lithium carbonate is about 340,000 tons, and the annual production capacity of lithium hydroxide is about 230,000 tons, but the actual output is lower than the production capacity.

　　
Liu Huafeng, general manager of the lithium carbonate division of a new energy technology company in Yongxing, Jiangxi, said that lithium is also called "white oil." The growth rate of expansion is relatively slow.