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| Author | InfoLink |
| Updated | June 24, 2026 |
Lithium ore and lithium salt
Over the past week, prices for spodumene concentrate and battery-grade lithium carbonate have recovered significantly.
- Battery-grade lithium carbonate (spot)
Price range: RMB 150,000–160,000/MT
Average price: RMB 155,000/MT
Down 7.7% WoW - Spodumene concentrate (SC6, CIF)
Price range: USD 2,200–2,300/MT
Average price: USD 2,250/MT
Down 8.0% WoW
The price decline was mainly driven by renewed supply-side expectations. Market discussions intensified over further permitting progress for the Jianxiawo project and the potential resumption of some lithium salt capacity, triggering a swift correction in earlier pricing assumptions around near-term resource tightness. With warehouse warrants remaining elevated and downstream procurement still largely need-based, the futures pullback further weighed on spot transaction prices.
From a supply-demand perspective, the actual pace of resource release still differs from market expectations. Although the Jianxiawo project in Jiangxi has obtained new preliminary land-use approval and site selection documents, subsequent approvals, construction, and restart arrangements have yet to progress, limiting near-term supply additions. Therefore, a Q3 restart remains highly uncertain. Meanwhile, other mines in Jiangxi have gradually entered suspension periods for permit renewal, and previously accumulated ore inventories can secure short-term lithium salt production.
Outside China, lithium concentrate and lithium sulfate from Zimbabwe have been shipped gradually, but arrivals remain slow. Some companies continue to face tight ore inventories, and production cuts on the lithium salt side cannot be ruled out in July. Meanwhile, equipment upgrades at salt lake projects in Qinghai and a decline in Chile’s lithium carbonate exports to China have also placed some constraints on near-term lithium salt supply.
On the demand side, production plans for cathode materials and cells remain elevated, while new LFP capacity continues to ramp up. Energy storage demand remains resilient, and the EV segment is supported by improving exports and expectations for the traditional Q3 peak season. However, downstream raw material inventories are sufficient, keeping procurement focused on small need-based orders. Following sharp price swings, buyers’ willingness to chase higher prices has weakened significantly.
Overall, the latest lithium price correction mainly reflects the market pricing in potential supply additions ahead of time, rather than a material weakening in end-use demand. Expectations for the restart of the Jianxiawo project remain the key variable influencing short-term price movements. However, given the long process from current permitting progress to actual production resumption, market pricing for an immediate restart may be overly optimistic. Futures warehouse warrants and social inventories remain relatively elevated, which will continue to limit a rapid price rebound.
However, phased reductions in lithium salt output, tight ore inventories at some companies, and elevated midstream production plans should provide support near RMB 150,000/MT. Lithium carbonate prices are expected to remain range-bound in the near term, with limited downside for another sharp decline. Key factors to watch include Jianxiawo’s approval progress, the pace of non-Chinese resource arrivals, and changes in lithium salt inventories.
Energy storage cells in China
Over the past week, transaction prices for China’s LFP energy storage cells have held steady overall, with quotes for major formats showing no significant changes. Prices are as follows:
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100 Ah: RMB 0.425–0.485/Wh, averaging RMB 0.455/Wh (flat)
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280 Ah: RMB 0.345–0.410/Wh, averaging RMB 0.378/Wh (flat)
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314 Ah: RMB 0.345–0.405/Wh, averaging RMB 0.375/Wh (flat)
By format, 100 Ah cells remain more resilient, supported by demand from residential energy storage and some C&I applications outside China. For 280 Ah and 314Ah cells, ample supply continues to keep transaction prices stable.
Following the recent sharp pullback in lithium carbonate prices, cell prices have become more closely tied to upstream raw material movements. However, existing orders, raw material inventories, and project delivery cycles mean cost pass-through will not be immediate. If lithium carbonate prices continue to decline from around RMB 170,000/MT to about RMB 150,000/MT, transaction prices for highly competitive formats such as 280 Ah and 314 Ah may see slight downward adjustments, while small-capacity products and leading companies’ core models should retain some price support.
In terms of product mix, 314 Ah remains the mainstream format for utility-scale storage tenders and project delivery, while 500+ Ah products are accelerating adoption. The recent launch of Lisiner’s annual procurement for 587 Ah/588 Ah large-capacity ESS cells also indicates that application validation for large-format cells is accelerating. However, this is unlikely to change the overall price stability of mainstream formats in the near term.
Energy storage system (ESS) in China
Prices for electrochemical ESS in China have remained stable for the past week. Prices are as follows:
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DC-side liquid-cooled containerized ESS (2h): RMB 0.46–0.53/Wh, averaging RMB 0.50/Wh (flat)
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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 0.52-0.64/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)
Compared with cells, the system integration segment has less room to compress margins, and the recent decline in raw material prices has yet to directly feed through to ESS transaction prices. With the industry increasingly emphasizing rational competition and tenders placing greater weight on safety performance, project track records, and delivery capabilities, integrators have limited scope to win orders through further price cuts. ESS transaction prices are therefore unlikely to decline in the near term.
Recent utility-scale grid-side projects continue to signal solid demand. On June 17, Inner Mongolia Power Group announced the EPC bid candidates for its first batch of 2026 grid-side ESS projects, with a total scale of 2 GW/8 GWh across six projects and 12 tender packages. A total of 21 companies were shortlisted, with bid prices ranging from RMB 0.637-0.667/Wh.
The project is primarily based on 4-hour grid-side storage. As the quoted prices reflect an EPC scope covering design, equipment, construction, and supporting works, they should not be directly compared with system equipment transaction prices. Still, the narrow bidding range for utility-scale projects suggests that long-duration storage projects are further compressing non-core costs, while raising requirements for general contractors’ financing, delivery, and project execution capabilities.
Another key development is the June 18 implementation of the Guidelines for Assessing Power System Hosting Capacity for Distributed Energy Resource Integration. The guidelines provide a technical basis for shifting distributed PV integration assessment from single-equipment constraints to a more comprehensive evaluation at both system and equipment levels.
In regions with insufficient available hosting capacity, PV-plus-storage integration, local flexible resources, and distribution grid upgrades could improve grid-connection conditions for distributed projects, creating new supporting demand for C&I storage. However, the policy is mainly aimed at easing grid-connection constraints and is unlikely to restore the previous revenue model based on fixed peak-valley spreads.
As power market-based trading deepens, revenue assessment for C&I storage projects remains highly uncertain. China’s C&I storage demand is therefore expected to recover only cautiously in 2026, with the policy providing mainly marginal support to specific regions and selected PV-plus-storage projects.