Latest Update in the SMM Cathode Material Market

Following the filing of the Chifeng project in April 2026, Zhongke Yitan's second green fuel base in Inner Mongolia — the Urad Houqi 500,000 mt green methanol-to-SAF project — was recently officially filed. The two projects have a combined investment of over 14.4 billion yuan, located in Bayannur and Chifeng respectively, and will simultaneously construct hydrogen production, methanol production, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facilities.

Lithium carbonate production slightly declined this week, mainly due to maintenance on production lines at some spodumene-based enterprises, while production from other raw material sources remained stable with a slight increase. In terms of market transactions and inventory changes: upstream lithium chemical plants saw a slight slowdown in spot order shipments, downstream players and traders showed weakened purchase willingness, and combined with the successive commencement of long-term contract deliveries, inventory exhibited a slight destocking trend this week. On the downstream material plants side, as prices rose significantly, spot order purchase willingness remained persistently weak, with consumption still primarily relying on earlier inventory and long-term contract and customer-supplied materials delivered at the beginning of the month. On the trader side, due to sluggish downstream purchases, inventory continued to accumulate.

[SMM Lithium Battery Anode Raw Material Market Weekly Review: Artificial Graphite Prices Rise, Natural Graphite Remains Stable and Stagnant] May 7: This week, artificial graphite anode material prices showed an upward trend. Supply-demand side, effective capacity at leading anode enterprises remained tight.

[SMM Lithium Battery Anode Raw Material Market Weekly Review: Graphitisation Tolling Service Prices Remained Stable and Stagnant, Tug-of-War Between Sellers and Buyers Became Prominent] May 7: This week, graphitisation tolling service processing prices in China did not show significant fluctuations, and the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers became prominent.