China Li-ion Battery E-News(China Li-ion Battery E-News 201804)

China’s Li-ion battery market polarised in April 2018 as the digital and mini powder cell market entered the traditional peak season while demands for vehicle power battery had not recovered yet. Domestic demands for small digital cells were large even after price hikes in March; while power battery producers suffered high energy density requirements of new subsidy policies, causing outmoded production lines being halted. Some industrial insiders commented that the transitional period of new policies were set to be 12 Feb. and 11 June, 2018 and only 70% of subsidies for alternative energy vehicles during this period would be distributed. Once this transition ends, high-quality batteries are estimated to be widely accepted and the polarisation of this industry will be even more obvious.

Notably, after the successful launch of initial public offering of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. on 4 April, China’s mainstream large-scale power battery manufacturers have all been listed in the stock market.

- Cathode materials: Domestic prices of ternary materials remained high but few transactions were made in April. Key enterprises kept selling products, while other companies did not see recovered downstream demands. Lithium carbonate prices were pulled down by low-end products. Although large-scale manufacturers tried to stabilise quotations, some small ones lowered their prices for sales production.

- Anode materials: April witnessed scarcely changed anode material prices and market. Since demands for power batteries were sluggish, downstream companies appealed for lower anode material prices. However, the prices were supported by high raw material costs and the shortfall of graphite. In this context, mainstream producers enjoyed balanced supply and demand, but small- and medium-sized companies were largely restricted by slack demands.

- Electrolyte: Few trades were seen in the market and quotations of some companies declined in April. The prices of electrolyte kept decreasing due to falling lithium hexafluorophosphate prices and the depressed market.

- Separator: China’s separator market was in depression as demands for vehicle power battery hardly recovered in spite of the prosperity in the digital and mini power cell markets. Separator manufacturers were pessimistic about future market.

The USD/RMB exchange rate in this newsletter is USD1.00=RMB6.2764 on 2 April, 2018, sourced from the People's Bank of China.

All the prices mentioned in this newsletter will include the VAT, unless otherwise specified.

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