Strong demand for power battery lithium hexafluorophosphate supply and demand are tight or continue

Original title: Strong growth in demand for power batteries, the tight supply and demand pattern of lithium hexafluorophosphate may continue

Original source: China Securities Journal

Reporter: Jin Yidan

"Can I deliver this week? I'm waiting for it.

Zhang Wen has been running back and forth recently to find a suitable electrolyte raw material supplier.

Electrolyte price rise

Electrolyte is one of the main raw materials of lithium batteries, and lithium hexafluorophosphate is the most important component of the electrolyte, accounting for about 40% of the total cost of the electrolyte.

The development of the new energy automobile industry has driven a substantial increase in the market demand for lithium batteries.

Data show that on May 19, the market price of lithium hexafluorophosphate rose to 270,000-310,000 yuan/ton.

Companies such as Polyfluoride, Tianji, and Jiujiu have recently raised their prices for lithium hexafluorophosphate.

　　Ningde Times recently locked the price of Tinci Material's electrolyte supply and lithium hexafluorophosphate through long-term orders and advance payments.

　　On May 27, Tinci Materials issued an announcement stating that its wholly-owned subsidiary Ningde Kaixin Battery Materials Co.

　　According to the agreement, the electrolyte raw material lithium hexafluorophosphate is quoted at the benchmark price locked in the agreement.

　　According to industry estimates, based on a single ton of electrolyte demand of 0.

　　Guosen Securities believes that the tight supply and demand trend of lithium hexafluorophosphate in 2021 is expected to continue throughout the year, with gross profit per ton rising from a low of 4,000 yuan to the current 50,000 yuan, with greater profitability.

　　Increased market demand

　　According to the analysis of the research institute GGII, the main driving factor for the price increase of lithium hexafluorophosphate is the misalignment of supply and demand, the downstream market demand exceeds expectations, and the supply-side capacity cannot keep up, and the inventory has dropped to the lowest level since this year.

　　Since the beginning of this year, the production and sales volume of the new energy vehicle market has increased exponentially.

　　The new energy vehicle market is booming, and the demand for power batteries is growing strongly.

　　Zhang Wen told a reporter from the China Securities Journal: "Since the beginning of this year, several large-scale customers have significantly increased their orders, and batteries have been taken away from the production line.

　　GGII predicts that the demand for new energy vehicle batteries will continue to pick up in 2021, and the gap between supply and demand will widen.

　　Yang Zhixuan, Chief Financial Officer of Skyrim, said that the company had experienced the "roller coaster" market for lithium hexafluorophosphate prices.
In the future, the contradiction between supply and demand of lithium hexafluorophosphate may ease, and it is unlikely that there will be a serious oversupply.

　　Upstream enterprise expansion

　　In order to cope with the shortage of supply, many listed companies have stepped up production expansion.

　　Yongtai Technology stated that the company's lithium hexafluorophosphate has an annual production capacity of 2,000 tons, and is currently expanding its production capacity by 6,000 tons to meet market demand as soon as possible.

　　Tianji shares said that the company currently has an annual production capacity of 8,160 tons of lithium hexafluorophosphate, which can be increased through technological transformation, but it needs to be verified through actual production.
The company will launch relevant expansion plans in a timely manner based on market conditions.

　　The 2020 annual report of Polyfluoride shows that the current production capacity of polyfluoride lithium hexafluorophosphate is 10,000 tons per year, and the lithium hexafluorophosphate project with an annual output of 5,000 tons is still under construction.

　　Zheng Wenlong, the secretary of the board of Skyrim, said that the implementation of the lithium hexafluorophosphate project needs to be approved by multiple departments such as environmental protection and safety, and the expansion period is relatively long, generally 1-2 years.

　　Guotai Junan Securities pointed out that according to incomplete statistics, the current global total production capacity of lithium hexafluorophosphate is about 56,000 tons.
Among them, Tinci Materials, Polyfluoride, and Tianci have a combined production capacity of more than 30,000 tons, accounting for 55%.
Considering that the construction period of enterprise expansion is generally around 1.
5 years, short-term new capacity is relatively small.
From the perspective of the pace of company expansion, the new production capacity in 2021 will be mainly concentrated in the two leading companies of Tinci Materials and Fluoride.
As industry leaders, the two companies have strong pricing power, and their new capacity is basically concentrated in the second half of the year.

　　Huachuang Securities said that at present, some enterprises of lithium hexafluorophosphate are at full production and their inventories have dropped to the lowest level since this year.
Some production lines of individual enterprises were overhauled, and output was affected, which is expected to be released in June.
With the accelerated growth of the new energy automobile industry, the market demand for lithium hexafluorophosphate still has a lot of room for growth in the future.

　　China Post Securities stated that since the second half of 2020, domestic lithium hexafluorophosphate prices have continued to rise, on the one hand, affected by the mismatch of supply and demand, on the other hand, driven by rising raw material costs.
The current inventory of lithium hexafluorophosphate industry is at the lowest level in the same period in the past three years.
Considering that the production and sales data of downstream new energy vehicles are still good, the tight supply and demand pattern of lithium hexafluorophosphate may continue.