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| Author | InfoLink |
| Updated | August 26, 2026 |
Lithium ore and lithium salt
Over the past week, prices for spodumene concentrate and battery-grade lithium carbonate have been fluctuating. Details are as follows:
- Battery-grade lithium carbonate (spot)
Price range: RMB 147,000–152,000/MT
Average price: RMB 150,000/MT
Up 0.3% WoW - Spodumene concentrate (SC6, CIF)
Price range: USD 2,060–2,200/MT
Average price: USD 2,130/MT
Up 1.4% WoW
This week, lithium salt prices remain volatile at elevated levels, continuing to be supported by tight spot availability, a strengthening basis, and continued downstream procurement on an as-needed basis. Following a correction in the futures market, some downstream buyers continue to lock in prices for transactions at around RMB 150,000/MT but have shown no notable increase in willingness to accept higher prices. This suggests that the current price support stems more from near-term supply-demand tightness and a firmer basis than from a broad-based expansion in demand.
On the supply side, expectations for a restart at the Jianxiawo lithium mine remain one of the key variables affecting lithium carbonate prices. The project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) documents previously entered the proposed-acceptance disclosure stage. The publicly disclosed EIA report shows a mining scale of 30 million MT/year, down by around 30% from 45 million MT/year before the suspension. However, proposed acceptance does not constitute formal approval, and the pace of subsequent approvals will still need to be monitored alongside developments in the renewed disclosures and any required supplementary submissions.
Outside China, earlier resource shipments have gradually arrived at Chinese ports, driving a MoM increase in China’s domestic lithium ore inventories. Arrivals of Zimbabwean concentrate and production resumptions at some companies have been important sources of incremental lithium carbonate output recovery since August. Meanwhile, Argentina’s lithium carbonate exports remained at elevated levels in July, providing additional supply to China through continued shipments.
On the demand side, midstream production schedules remain high, while peak-season deliveries of power and energy storage cells continue to support apparent demand for lithium carbonate. Inventories also continue to decline.
Overall, lithium carbonate remains caught between strong near-term fundamentals and weak expectations. Inventory drawdowns and a firmer basis in August and September are supporting the price floor, while arrivals of Zimbabwean resources, resumptions at the lithium salt production stage, and expectations of slower demand growth next year continue to cap the upside. Lithium carbonate prices are therefore expected to remain range-bound, with periods of strength dependent on further materialization of supply disruptions in Jiangxi, Zimbabwe, and elsewhere. The fundamentals for a sustained one-way rally remain insufficient.
Energy storage cells in China
Over the past week, prices for China’s LFP energy storage cells have edged up slightly while remaining broadly stable, with prices as follows:
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100 Ah: RMB 0.400–0.480/Wh, averaging RMB 0.440/Wh (flat WoW)
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280 Ah: RMB 0.335–0.390/Wh, averaging RMB 0.363/Wh (up 0.7% WoW)
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314 Ah: RMB 0.335–0.390/Wh, averaging RMB 0.363/Wh (up 0.7% WoW)
After lithium carbonate prices remained volatile at elevated levels, cost pressure on the cell segment increased somewhat, and mainstream utility-scale energy storage cell specifications. In contrast, prices for 100 Ah products remained largely stable, weighed down by forward inventory in the residential energy storage market and channel destocking pressure, with no clear momentum for upward adjustments yet.
From the perspective of costs and order cadence, support for the bottom of cell prices has strengthened compared with earlier periods. On the one hand, firm prices for copper and other non-ferrous metals are providing a certain degree of cost support for cell auxiliary materials, conductive components, and related manufacturing processes. On the other hand, as China’s consumption tax policy for lithium-ion batteries is scheduled to enter the implementation stage in September, some battery manufacturers have begun issuing price adjustment notices to pass through the additional tax costs, providing some support for prices of newly signed and undelivered orders.
Meanwhile, utility-scale energy storage demand remains in a period of concentrated deliveries, with relatively good order visibility for mainstream specifications such as 280 Ah and 314 Ah. Supply and demand in the cell segment are therefore unlikely to loosen significantly before year-end. However, ample cell production capacity remains available over the longer term, while major customers retain strong bargaining power. Manufacturers are thus focusing more on balancing cost pass-through, order securing, and customer relationships than on actively pushing through substantial price increases.
In the short term, energy storage cell prices are expected to remain stable with a slight upward bias. Raw material and tax-related factors are reducing room for further price declines, but sustained and notable increases in mainstream cell prices would still require stronger-than-expected demand.
Energy storage system (ESS) in China
For the past week, transaction prices for electrochemical ESS in China have remained stable. Prices are as follows:
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DC-side liquid-cooled containerized ESS (2h): RMB 0.45–0.53/Wh, averaging RMB 0.49/Wh (flat WoW)
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AC-side liquid-cooled containerized ESS (1h): RMB 0.81-0.87/Wh, averaging RMB 0.84/Wh (flat)
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AC-side liquid-cooled containerized ESS (2h): RMB 0.52-0.63/Wh, averaging RMB 0.58/Wh (flat)
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AC-side liquid-cooled containerized ESS (4h): RMB 0.50-0.55/Wh, averaging RMB 0.53/Wh (flat)
System prices have not yet clearly tracked the slight recovery in cell prices, mainly because system pricing is influenced not only by cells but also by multiple factors, including power conversion system (PCS), transformers, energy management system (EMS), battery management system (BMS), thermal management, fire protection, grid-connection and commissioning requirements, warranties, and delivery obligations. As low-price competition intensifies, integrators have limited room to further reduce equipment prices. Going forward, project quotations will increasingly need to rebalance trade-offs among cost control, configuration completeness, grid-connection compatibility, and long-term service responsibilities.
In the recent procurement for the Changxia Zhihui Qinglong 100 MW/200 MWh standalone energy storage project, candidate results indicate that sodium-ion energy storage is accelerating its deployment in actual projects. The project adopts a hybrid grid-following energy storage system combining LFP and sodium-ion batteries, with 10 MW/20 MWh of sodium-ion storage and 90 MW/180 MWh of LFP storage. This suggests that sodium-ion batteries are no longer limited to small-scale demonstrations or technology validation, but are beginning to be incorporated into standalone energy storage power station configurations at a meaningful scale.
The tender scope also extends well beyond battery containers, covering battery containers, PCS and step-up transformer systems, BMS, EMS, fire protection systems, equipment transportation, installation guidance, commissioning, system modeling, grid-connection testing, and warranty services. For system integrators, as sodium-ion applications accelerate, competition will increasingly hinge not only on low-price supply, but also on the ability to integrate both LFP and sodium-ion batteries, coordinate operating strategies, manage safety, and ensure grid-connection compatibility.
In the short term, sodium-ion batteries are still expected to account for a relatively limited share of large-scale energy storage, with LFP remaining the mainstream solution. However, as more projects move into implementation, sodium-ion energy storage is expected to find broader applications in areas such as resource security, low-temperature performance, cycling economics, and multi-technology configurations.
In addition, the EIA process for the Jianxiawo lithium mine saw a new procedural development on August 26, further heightening market attention to the pace of lithium ore supply in Jiangxi. The Yichun Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau stated that, during the proposed-acceptance public notice period for the environmental impact report of Yichun Times’ Jianxiawo lithium mining project, members of the public raised concerns about the developer’s earlier disclosure on its website. The bureau has therefore withdrawn the proposed-acceptance notice and will issue a new disclosure once the relevant requirements have been reviewed and confirmed as satisfied.
Based on the previously disclosed proposed-acceptance materials and public comments, the Jianxiawo project has entered the EIA process, but issues including mining scale, coordination with ore processing, tailings disposal, waste dump capacity, and public participation procedures still require further review and supplementary documentation. For lithium carbonate prices, this development has reinforced expectations of a delay in near-term supply releases, providing support for the spot basis and futures market sentiment. With midstream production schedules remaining high and lithium salt inventories continuing to decline, prices may remain firm and volatile in the near term.
Going forward, however, arrivals of Zimbabwean lithium ore, recovering output from salt lakes, and the return of supply from other mines will gradually increase supply flexibility. The Jianxiawo development is therefore more likely to delay the pace of supply releases than to fundamentally alter the supply-demand trajectory. The extent of further price upside will continue to depend on approval progress for lithium mines in Jiangxi, the pace of overseas resource arrivals, and the realization of peak-season demand. The basis for a sustained one-way rally still requires further confirmation.