Upswing Battery Grade Lithium Prices and 2020Q1Industry report

Due to the rapid growth of demand in the domestic new energy vehicle market, the demand for iron-lithium materials and ternary are getting stronger and stronger. This is because some cars utilize lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries for simpler manufacturing and lower-cost ingredients, according to Bloomberg. As GGII mentioned in its quarter report for the domestic market and shipment analysis, price of the positive electrode is continuously increasing, and with more than 25% quarter-on-quarter growth for Ternary and over 10% quarter-on-quarter growth for lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4). With the demand of lithium iron phosphate over 30% for all the materials and the shipment increases more than 25% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the shipment of the positive electrode increases more than 180% quarter-on-quarter. The prices of negative electrode increase over 8% quarter-on-quarter, with over 150% increase on its shipment. As for the separator, the price increases insignificantly with more than 250% quarter-on-quarter growth in the shipment. The price of electrolyte increases more than 20% quarter-on-quarter. The upswing of the battery-grade lithium carbonate and battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices in the domestic market is the result of high demand and slower-than-anticipated transition to high nickel chemistries. Globally, the supply of raw materials is tightening due to the underinvestment in new mines and refineries due to the previous price downturn and the downstream demand growth led to the rise of the lithium price in the first quarter and beyond, according to Fastmarkets. Although the restriction of new market in Chile will not have notable influence on the production continuation, logistics and shipment are supposed to be interrupted, and at the same time, the prices of lithium have been moving up slowly globally. The global supply of technical-grade lithium markets is tight, result in the firm battery-grade lithium prices in the seaborne Asian market and rallying lithium battery-grade spot prices for United States and Europe. Below is the historical battery pack price on the basis of year.