The lithium carbonate market is in short supply and market prices continue to rise

Lithium carbonate is an inorganic compound with the appearance of colorless monoclinic crystals. Lithium carbonate is slightly soluble in water and dilute acid, insoluble in ethanol and acetone, and does not deliquesce in the air. Lithium carbonate is widely used in medicine, electronics, glass, ceramics, cement, semiconductor materials and other fields. According to different application fields, lithium carbonate can be divided into battery-grade lithium carbonate and industrial-grade lithium carbonate. Battery-grade lithium carbonate is mainly used in consumer electronics. field.

According to the “2022-2026 China Lithium Carbonate Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Trend Forecast Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center, In recent years, thanks to the development of the new energy vehicle industry, the market demand for lithium carbonate has been continuously released, and the industry’s output has increased accordingly. In 2021, the output of my country’s lithium carbonate industry will be around 242,000 tons. It is expected that in 2022, the output of the lithium carbonate industry will increase to more than 300,000 tons.

From the perspective of downstream consumption distribution, new energy vehicles and electronics consumption are the main consumption scenarios of lithium carbonate in my country, with the combined consumption of these two fields accounting for more than 74%. my country’s lithium carbonate market has strong demand. Since domestic production capacity is insufficient to meet market demand, lithium carbonate still needs to be imported from overseas markets. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, in 2021, my country’s export volume of lithium carbonate will be 7.8 tons, and the import volume will be approximately 810,000 tons.

In the upstream of the industrial chain, lithium carbonate collection methods can be divided into two categories: lithium ore extraction and salt lake lithium extraction. The extraction methods include sulfuric acid method, chloride roasting method, adsorption method, calcination leaching method, electrodialysis method, etc. At present, my country mainly relies on the extraction of lithium from lithium ore, but my country is rich in salt lake resources. Against the background of increasingly tight supply in the lithium carbonate market, the market for lithium extraction from salt lakes continues to increase attention.

my country’s lithium carbonate market is highly concentrated, among which companies with higher market shares include Tianqi Lithium, Ganfeng Lithium, Yichun Silver Lithium, Lanke Lithium, Shengxin Lithium Energy, etc. Tianqi Lithium is the leading company in the domestic lithium carbonate industry, with a market share of approximately 13.5%. Lithium carbonate is the company’s key business. The company’s lithium carbonate production bases include Zhangjiagang Base, Shehong Production Base, Anju Production Base, etc.

Due to insufficient market supply, the overall market price of lithium carbonate is on an upward trend. In 2021, the average price of lithium carbonate in my country is about 112,000 yuan. In the first half of 2022, the average price of lithium carbonate rose to about 408,000 yuan. As the price of lithium carbonate rises, corporate procurement costs increase and profit margins decline, which will gradually affect downstream companies.

Industry analysts said that driven by national policies, my country’s new energy vehicle industry has developed rapidly, and the market demand for lithium carbonate has increased accordingly. However, due to resource and technology constraints, my country’s lithium carbonate industry has low production capacity and market prices continue to rise. In order to alleviate the short supply situation in the lithium carbonate market, relevant companies still need to increase the development of lithium carbonate resources and improve the utilization rate of salt lake resources.