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| Author | InfoLink |
| Updated | August 12, 2026 |
Lithium ore and lithium salt
Over the past week, prices for spodumene concentrate and battery-grade lithium carbonate have trended higher, albeit with some volatility. Details are as follows:
- Battery-grade lithium carbonate (spot)
Price range: RMB 139,000–144,000/MT
Average price: RMB 142,000/MT
Down 1.1% WoW - Spodumene concentrate (SC6, CIF)
Price range: USD 1,990–2,090/MT
Average price: USD 2,040/MT
Down 1.0% WoW
Lithium salt prices have posted a modest recovery this week, mainly driven by improved trading at lower price levels and a strengthening spot basis. Since futures prices returned to around RMB 140,000/MT, some downstream buyers have shown greater willingness to fix prices. Fresh supply remains limited, while growing confirmation of inventory drawdowns in August has further strengthened near-term prices. However, financial investors continue to trade on expectations of a looser supply-demand balance in 2027, preventing the recent upward move from developing into a sustained rally.
On the supply side, the resumption of operations at the Jianxiawo lithium mine continues to lag earlier optimistic expectations. Approval of the mining environmental impact assessment and modifications to the supporting beneficiation and tailings storage facilities still need to progress, limiting incremental supply in the near term. Mine supply outside China has also faced disruptions. Australian ore shipments declined MoM, while winter conditions in South America affected lithium salt production and shipments. Chilean lithium salt shipments to China also fell in July.
In the lithium salt segment, some refiners, brine producers, and companies tied to Zimbabwean resources still have maintenance and production cuts scheduled for August. Combined with persistently high midstream production plans, these factors have prevented physical lithium carbonate supply-demand conditions from loosening significantly. A sizeable inventory drawdown is expected to continue supporting the market in August. From September onward, even if arrivals of Zimbabwean feedstock and a recovery in brine production bring additional supply, peak-season demand may continue to absorb part of the incremental volumes.
Overall, lithium carbonate prices are expected to remain range-bound in the near term. The peak shipping season has yet to end, while production schedules for EV and energy storage cells remain high. Ongoing inventory drawdowns in the spot market continue to provide downside support. However, downstream buyers have already built relatively sufficient inventories, limiting their willingness to chase further price gains.
Over the medium term, if demand materializes strongly in August and September, the market may once again begin pricing in Q4 peak-season fundamentals. However, the upside will depend on whether supply disruptions in Jiangxi, Zimbabwe, and South America persist as expected. Compared with the highs in 1H26, lithium carbonate prices have edged down to a somewhat lower range in H2. Prices are more likely to fluctuate repeatedly between RMB 133,000–149,000/MT, with a sustained sharp increase remaining unlikely.
Energy storage cells in China
Over the past week, transaction prices for China’s LFP energy storage cells have partly softened, with prices as follows:
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100 Ah: RMB 0.400–0.480/Wh, averaging RMB 0.440/Wh (down 0.6% WoW)
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280 Ah: RMB 0.330–0.390/Wh, averaging RMB 0.360/Wh (flat WoW)
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314 Ah: RMB 0.330–0.390/Wh, averaging RMB 0.360/Wh (flat WoW)
After lithium carbonate prices fluctuated around RMB 140,000/MT, the cost base for cells has declined from earlier levels. Some manufacturers have continued to offer price concessions on orders from major customers and under long-term agreements to secure future deliveries and maintain capacity utilization. Price resilience for 100 Ah cells has weakened amid inventory pressure tied to the longer-term outlook for the residential storage market, while prices for mainstream 280 Ah and 314 Ah utility-scale storage cells have remained stable at low levels.
From a demand-structure perspective, utility-scale storage orders continue to provide support, although cell manufacturers have become more cautious about the longer-term price outlook. The 314 Ah cell remains the mainstream specification for utility-scale storage shipments. While the introduction of 500 Ah and larger cells continues to advance, these products have yet to alter the competitive landscape among mainstream specifications in the near term.
In the residential storage segment, demand from markets outside China provided strong support earlier, but growing channel inventories and rising expectations that additional supply will come online next year have significantly weakened the basis for sustained price increases in small-capacity cells. Cell manufacturers now prefer to secure orders at low prices and retain key customers rather than wait for a price rebound.
Transaction prices for cells are expected to remain largely stable in the near term. If lithium carbonate prices shift to a lower range, some newly signed orders and long-term agreements may see modest corresponding price reductions. However, persistently strong energy storage demand is expected to limit the scope for any sharp price declines.
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)
Softening cell prices are still being passed through to DC-side ESS prices to some extent. However, overall ESS prices are also constrained by costs of PCS, transformers, EMS, thermal management, fire protection, grid-connection commissioning, and warranty obligations, resulting in slower price adjustments for AC-side ESS. With current quoted ESS prices already at low levels, system integrators are focusing more on rebalancing equipment configurations, delivery scope, and risk allocation than simply lowering prices in step with cell prices.
Recent procurement activity for utility-scale standalone ESS continues to reflect intense competition at low price levels.
In early August, the winning bid was announced for Hebei Transportation Investment Group’s 300 MW/1,200 MWh standalone energy storage project in Guojiatun Town, Longhua County, with a winning bid of approximately RMB 0.525/Wh. The tender covers equipment procurement for a 4-hour LFP ESS. The scope of supply includes batteries, PCS, transformers, DC combiner equipment, BMS, EMS, measurement and metering equipment, fire protection systems, and auxiliary equipment within the containers, as well as factory testing, transportation and delivery, on-site installation guidance, commissioning support, and warranty services.
The awarded price indicates that generation- and grid-side utility-scale ESS remain highly competitive, but the low price does not come at the expense of a narrower scope of supply. Future project awards will place greater emphasis on integrators’ cost control, coordination across core components, delivery execution, and long-term service capabilities.
In addition, policy requirements for the quality of new-type energy storage development are becoming clearer. On July 31, 2025, China’s National Energy Administration released the China New-Type Energy Storage Development Report 2025. The report emphasizes that new-type energy storage is gradually moving beyond the earlier phase of rapid capacity additions and entering a new stage that places greater emphasis on application scenarios, market mechanisms, technological innovation, and operational performance.
For ESS prices, this means that project competition will no longer focus solely on equipment prices. Project owners will pay greater attention to actual utilization rates, grid dispatch capabilities, safety and O&M performance, and life-cycle returns. In the near term, lower cell costs will keep ESS prices competitive at low levels. However, as mechanisms enabling standalone energy storage to participate in spot power markets, ancillary services, and capacity remuneration continue to improve, solutions offering grid-forming capabilities, stable operation, and long-term services may still command a premium in projects with more stringent requirements.
Going forward , the focus of ESS price assessments is expected to shift from equipment procurement costs alone toward the overall balance among equipment prices, operating returns, and safety responsibilities.