More than half of the lithium iron phosphate batteries are matched, and the market sentiment of lithium salt cobalt salt is pessimistic.

Battery Terminal Market

On March 8, the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the 2nd batch of “Catalogue of Recommended Vehicle Types for Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles” in 2019. A total of 84 models were selected, including 83 pure electric products and only one plug-in hybrid product. According to the battery technology, there are 49 lithium iron phosphate batteries, accounting for 58%; 31 ternary batteries, accounting for 37%; 3 lithium manganate batteries, and 1 multi-component lithium battery. This time, the number of lithium iron phosphate batteries is double that of ternary batteries, which is also the reason for the high proportion of lithium iron phosphate batteries in the catalogue.

Upstream raw material prices:

Cobalt: Spot price of cobalt sulfate declined rapidly, low-price supply increased, aggravating market panic, downstream wait-and-see sentiment became stronger. The factory quotes about 55,000 yuan, and the actual transaction sticks to the 50,000 yuan/ton pass. Recent inquiries in the cobalt market have increased, but the intended price is low. It is far from the producer’s offer. The trading center in the buyer’s market has gradually moved down.

Lithium: The market mentality is generally pessimistic about the price of lithium salts. The downstream cathode material manufacturers adopt a small number of modes to purchase lithium carbonate, even long orders are not locked in order to prevent price changes. NEWS: On March 13, Altura announced its entry into commercial production. Its lithium concentrate, with a capacity of 220,000 tons, was first shipped out in October 18. In recent weeks, the production capacity has climbed to 84% of the design capacity, and has reached 95% since March. Gravity separation and flotation have been gradually optimized, and the recovery rate has increased from 57% to 67%, gradually approaching the target of 80%.

Positive Material: The market of lithium iron phosphate is warmer than that of the same period last year. Whether the start-up rate of lithium iron phosphate cathode material manufacturers is increasing, or the demand for lithium iron phosphate cathode materials in battery factories is increasing. Compared with long orders, spot transactions are less. Although the subsidy policy was introduced, the lithium iron phosphate cathode material factory said it did not feel that there was a significant change in purchasing for downstream battery factories.