Measurement of cobalt and lithium use in new energy vehicles, January-April 2018

It is reported that from January to April 2018, new energy vehicles consumed 5447.3 tons of lithium carbonate and 1326 tons of cobalt metal. Based on the installed electricity data, the use of cobalt and lithium in new energy vehicles was measured from January to April 2018.

Assumptions: 1 In the industrial case, the amount of 1 kWh battery capacity of the LPF battery corresponding to lithium carbonate is 0.57 kg; 2 Under industrial conditions, the amount of 1kWh battery capacity corresponding to lithium carbonate is 0.73 kg; The demand for metal cobalt is 0.26 kg; 3 In the industrial case, the LMO battery 1kWh battery capacity corresponds to the amount of lithium carbonate of 0.55 kg; 4 Assume that the installed ternary battery types from January to April 2018 are NCM. According to model calculations, the installed battery consumed 5447.3 tons of lithium carbonate and 1326 tons of cobalt metal from January to April 2018.

Cobalt prices may be bottoming out. As the off-season of power batteries has gradually passed, the operating rate of downstream large power core plants has improved. In addition, with the mass production of new models, the battery plant will enter the raw material replenishment stage in late May. Cobalt prices will likely bottom up and will even continue to reach a record high. In addition, Glencore's cobalt mining company has been caught in legal proceedings. The uncertainty of KCC's reproduction has not yet been eliminated. With the implementation of the new mining law, the increase in upstream costs will further support the upward price of cobalt.

Demand for lithium carbonate may be about to warm, and the trend for high nickel ternary is becoming clearer: after the traditional off-season in April, some raw material manufacturers led to a correction in the emerging stage of lithium carbonate prices at low prices. Since entering May, low-cost lithium raw materials have gradually been digested. Demand for lithium carbonate will gradually warm up as the power cell's off-season wears off.

In addition, with the first large-scale application of high-nickel ternary positive materials in the 3C market in 2018, large-scale applications will be applied in power batteries in 2019. The trend of high-nickel ternary is becoming clearer, and the demand for lithium hydroxide will continue to rise. The degree of landscape gas will also continue to rise.

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