Lithium salt in May: resource dependence is 85%! High-end lithium hydroxide becomes a new engine for breakthrough

According to the latest released industry data, China's lithium salt market showed a strong supply and demand situation in May, with prominent structural contradictions and obvious signals of industrial upgrading.

1. Production: stable operation, high-nickel raw materials continue to increase in volume

In May, the total domestic lithium salt output (LCE equivalent) reached 99,000 tons, continuing the stable trend. The performance of core products is differentiated:

Lithium carbonate: monthly output of 65,000 tons (accounting for 65.7% of the total), still the main force in the market

Lithium hydroxide: output of 37,000 tons (accounting for 37.4%), stable at a high level for three consecutive months

Lithium metal: 133 tons, reflecting the growth in demand for solid-state battery materials

It is particularly noteworthy that the lithium hydroxide/lithium carbonate output ratio reached 57%, an increase of 12 percentage points from the beginning of the year, confirming the accelerated increase in the penetration rate of high-nickel ternary batteries.

2. Imports and exports: structural differentiation intensified

In May, the import and export of lithium products showed the distinctive characteristics of "upstream blood transfusion and downstream output": the total net export value of lithium battery materials from January to May this year exceeded 42,000 tons, of which the net export of lithium hydroxide was 15,000 tons, an increase of more than 40% year-on-year, indicating that China's lithium salt deep processing technology has global competitiveness.

3. Industrial structure: Deep reconstruction is in progress

Upstream resource bottlenecks are highlighted. From January to May, the import volume of lithium concentrate reached 2.92 million tons, and the external dependence exceeded 85%. "Resource anxiety" is reshaping the global lithium mine competition pattern.

Midstream capacity structural upgrade. Lithium hydroxide production lines continue to expand production, and the market share of leading companies has increased. The export unit price reached $23.4/kg in May, a 35% premium over lithium carbonate, verifying the scarcity of high-end production capacity.

Downstream export drive effect amplifies the surge in overseas installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate materials, driving exports of more than 5,200 tons from January to May, a year-on-year increase of 200%. The lithium battery industry chain "going out" has entered a harvest period.