Lithium Industry Into The Cooling Period

In the lithium market competition is becoming increasingly fierce, the contradiction between supply and demand intensified in the background, this year, a number of companies have suspended or terminated lithium projects, treating the expansion of production with an increasingly cautious attitude. Compared with the previous two years, lithium industry chain enterprise investment enthusiasm is showing a receding trend.

According to the statistics of CNESA global energy storage database, in March 2024, a total of 26 enterprises in the country made public the planning of battery projects, with a total capacity of more than 233.53GWh, and an investment of more than 98.716 billion yuan, a drop of 4.68% compared with the previous year. In the view of the industry, the current lithium industry has entered a "cooling period".

Now, the lithium industry has changed the previous state of high speed, the development gradually tends to be rational. Qinghui think tank founder, economist Song Qinghui also mentioned: "previously announced cross-border into the lithium industry chain, part of the enterprise, have returned to the main business, focus on the main business. Obviously, this is also a clear signal that the lithium market has entered a cooling period."

It is worth noting that, in general, it seems that the current lithium industry chain project suspension termination, investment fever weakened mainly concentrated in the middle and upper reaches of the material end of the enterprise, involving battery positive and negative electrode, electrolyte, diaphragm and so on.

However, although the competition track is crowded, many projects suspended, but the industry for the long-term development of the lithium industry judgement has not changed. At present, the strength of the leading enterprises are still expanding against the trend, at the same time, many lithium industry chain enterprises are focusing on the huge incremental space of the overseas market, to open up the overseas market willingness is strong.

Zhongguancun energy storage industry technology alliance pointed out that, with a number of car companies released a new car equipped with solid-state batteries, solid-state battery investment heat is obviously warming up, before the Wei blue new energy, Qingtao energy, Ganfeng lithium-ion, Hui energy science and technology and other solid-state battery companies have been a small-scale shipment in March, a number of companies signed a cooperation agreement on solid-state batteries, the production capacity scale reached 19GWh." At present, liquid current batteries, sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries can already meet the specific applications in the segmented scene, with the technology continues to innovate and breakthroughs, the scale effect is gradually increasing, the cost will be followed by a decline in the cost, the future industrialisation of the layout of the project will be launched to accelerate the key."

In the view of industry insiders, the lithium industry in a period of deep adjustment needs rational development, the future competitiveness of high-quality products in order to win the market. 8 May, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "lithium battery industry norms and conditions (2024 this year)" (draft) mentioned that to guide enterprises to reduce the pure expansion of production capacity of the manufacturing project, strengthen technological innovation, improve product quality, reduce production costs.