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AFRICA CRITICAL MINERALS FORUM 2026

2026 Li-ION BATTERY AFRICA

SMM AFRICA CRITICAL MINERALS SEMINAR 2026

NET ZERO MEA Solar & Energy Storage Summit

2026 SMM Automotive Supply Chain Conference

Indonesia Critical Minerals Conference & Expo 2026

Indonesia Nickel & Cobalt & EV Industry Conference 2024

CLNB 2024 9TH CHINA NEW ENERGY EXPO

Shanghai Metals Expo 2025

AICE 2025 SMM (14th) Aluminum Industry Annual Conference

This week, the cobalt sulphate market remained largely sluggish overall. However, supported by positive news from the upstream mining sector, market purchasing sentiment showed some recovery compared to the previous period. Supply side, as the Chinese New Year holiday approaches, most smelters have successively arranged for production halts and maintenance. Combined with mining news strengthening bullish expectations for the future market, some enterprises have chosen to suspend quotations, while those maintaining quotations have raised their target prices to 96,000-98,000 yuan/mt. Demand side, due to concerns about a rapid price increase for cobalt sulphate after the holiday, downstream enterprises' purchase willingness has strengthened. It is reported that some companies' purchase intention prices for high-nickel cobalt sulphate have rebounded to 92,000 yuan/mt, while the purchase intention prices for low-nickel cobalt sulphate are in the range of 95,000-96,000 yuan/mt. Overall, as logistics gradually halt before the Chinese New Year, actual market transactions are expected to be quite limited next week, and cobalt sulphate prices are likely to remain largely stable. After the holiday, as downstream enterprises gradually resume procurement, prices may regain an upward trend.

[SMM Weekly Review] The cobalt sulphate market remained generally sluggish this week, but market sentiment for procurement recovered compared to the previous period, supported by positive news from the upstream mining sector.

This week, the domestic refined cobalt market saw limited overall changes, with spot prices fluctuating at lows. Supply side, affected by the decline in futures prices, mainstream smelters' spot premiums were too high, leading them to lower ex-factory prices; traders were bullish on the market outlook, hedgers raised spot-futures price spread quotes, while some unilateral speculators temporarily suspended quotations to observe the market. Demand side, as prices gradually stabilized, purchase willingness among some end-users recovered, with mainstream transaction prices concentrated in the range of 415,000–420,000 yuan/mt. Fundamentally, this round of price correction in domestic refined cobalt was mainly driven by market capital fluctuations and the broad decline in other metal prices. In the short term, as cobalt intermediate products still cannot arrive at ports in large quantities, the tight supply pattern of upstream raw materials has not fundamentally changed, and refined cobalt prices are expected to remain supported on the downside.

[SMM Weekly Review] The domestic refined cobalt market experienced limited overall changes this week, with spot prices fluctuating at lows.

The cobalt intermediate products market remained in a state of nominal pricing with thin trading this week, with prices holding steady in the range of $25.5–26.0/lb. News such as the US "stockpiling plan" and the acquisition of certain cobalt mining rights of overseas miners by US-funded enterprises heightened market concerns about cobalt raw material shortages in China in 2026, strengthening suppliers' willingness to hold prices firm. However, as the year-end approaches, some smelters have entered the stage of clearing production lines and preparing for shutdowns, leading to a noticeable decline in purchase willingness and resulting in sluggish actual market transactions. Overall, against the backdrop of large-scale arrivals of cobalt intermediate products remaining distant, increased geopolitical risks are expected to exacerbate the structural tightness of domestic intermediate products, maintaining upward pressure on prices.

[SMM Weekly Review] The cobalt intermediate products market remained in a state of "quoted prices without actual transactions" this week, with prices stabilizing in the range of $25.5-$26.0/lb.

On February 5, Changan Automobile unveiled its global sodium-ion battery strategy, and the world's first mass-produced sodium-ion battery passenger vehicle was officially introduced. Test data shows that the vehicle equipped with CATL's sodium-ion battery delivers nearly three times the discharge power compared to conventional lithium iron phosphate vehicles with the same battery capacity under -30°C conditions. In extreme cold environments of -40°C, it maintains over 90% capacity retention, and it can still discharge stably even at the extreme low temperature of -50°C.

World's First Mass-Produced Sodium-Ion Battery Passenger Vehicle Officially Unveiled

On February 4, Foxconn's New Energy Vehicle R&D Center officially commenced operations in Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, Henan Province. The launch of this facility will assist Foxconn in building an efficient industrial ecosystem, reducing the new vehicle production cycle to 24 months. This also signifies that Foxconn has established comprehensive end-to-end capabilities, from product planning and platform development to vehicle manufacturing.

Foxconn's New Energy Vehicle R&D Center Officially Commences Operations

According to data released by the Japan Automobile Importers Association (JAIA) on February 5, Japan's imported auto sales (excluding Japanese producers) fell 12% YoY to 13,019 units in January. Battery EV sales increased 68% to 2,041 units, marking a return to growth after one month of decline. Mercedes-Benz sales dropped 13% to 3,031 units, ranking first; Volkswagen sales were 1,528 units, down 41%; BMW sales were 1,383 units, down 17%; BYD sales surged 3.4-fold to 180 units.

Japan's Imported Auto Sales Fall 12% in January, EV Sales Up 68%

Japanese electronics and materials enterprise Maxell announced on the 4th that it will sell its subsidiary Wuxi Maxell Energy Co., Ltd., which produces lithium-ion batteries, to Zhejiang Xinghuan Holding Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Galaxy Energy. The transaction amount is approximately 48.96 million yuan, and the equity transfer is expected to be completed within the month.

Maxell to Sell Lithium-Ion Battery Subsidiary to Galaxy Energy for $48.96M

The SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate index stood at 141,706 yuan/mt. Battery-grade lithium carbonate was priced at 136,000–152,000 yuan/mt. Industrial-grade lithium carbonate traded in the range of 133,000–148,000 yuan/mt.
Today, the most-traded lithium carbonate futures contract fluctuated downward, hitting the lower limit during the afternoon session before rebounding and fluctuating range bound until the close. Prices mainly moved between 132,300 yuan/mt and 147,300 yuan/mt. In terms of trading activity, upstream lithium chemical plants showed limited willingness to sell spot orders and demonstrated clear sentiment to hold prices firm. Downstream material plants adopted a strategy of buying the dip; as prices fell, inquiries and transaction activity became relatively active.

SMM Daily Review: February 5 Spot Lithium Carbonate Prices Continued to Decline

Recently, the Jinkai New Energy Mulei Wind Power Project in Xinjiang, constructed by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, was successfully connected to the grid, marking a key milestone in the project's development. Located in Dashitou Village, Mulei County, Changji, Xinjiang, the project has a total installed capacity of 150 MW. It is an important component of Mulei County's "Dual 10 Million kW" New Energy Base, laying a solid foundation for achieving the annual target of connecting 10 million kW of new energy projects to the grid in the region. The successful grid connection of this project represents a significant achievement in power electronics' deep involvement in the new energy sector and its efforts to advance energy technology innovation.

Jinkai New Energy Mulei Wind Power Project in Xinjiang Successfully Connected to Grid

On January 30, 2026, the generation-grid-load-storage integrated project of Henan Huanghe Xuanfeng Co., Ltd. achieved full-capacity grid connection at its production site in Changge City, Xuchang City, marking the official operation of this provincial-level demonstration project and adding another technical model for the construction of market-oriented generation-grid-load-storage projects for enterprises. This project is the largest generation-grid-load-storage project in Xuchang City, with a total installed capacity of 22.3 MW on the DC side and a total investment exceeding 100 million yuan. It is one of the important practices in Henan Province to promote green industrial transformation. The project actively responded to the requirements of the "Henan Province Implementation Plan for Accelerating Generation-Grid-Load-Storage Integration" and innovatively adopted the integrated model of "PV+ESS+intelligent regulation" to achieve flexible configuration and collaborative optimization of energy. In terms of grid connection mode, the project broke through conventional practices by adopting a "self-generation and self-consumption, mutual supply of surplus electricity" mechanism, significantly enhancing the internal absorption capacity of green electricity.

Henan Huanghe Xuanfeng's Gen-Grid-Load-Storage Project Starts Full Operation in 2026

Recently, Moonwatt announced that its sodium-ion battery energy storage project, implemented in the Cleantech Park in Arnhem, the Netherlands, has been successfully put into operation.  
It is reported that this flagship project was jointly developed by Moonwatt, IPKW, and Veolia, marking the first practical deployment of a sodium-ion battery energy storage system specifically designed for hybrid solar power plants. The project utilizes Moonwatt's self-developed modular "string battery," which encapsulates sodium-ion battery cells in a passively cooled, sealed, and noiseless battery shell. Through a shared hybrid inverter and solar panels, it achieves DC coupling, effectively addressing challenges such as high costs and complex operation and maintenance during the hybridization of solar power plants, enabling seamless scaling from kilowatt to gigawatt levels.

Category	Price Description	Price Range	Avg	Change	Date
Raw Materials	Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate yuan/tonne	136000-152000	144000	-9000	Feb 05
Raw Materials	Battery-Grade Lithium Hydroxide (Coarse Particles) yuan/tonne	130000-150000	140000	-6500	Feb 05
Cathode material	China Lithium Ferrous Phosphate (EV Type, Powder Compact Density 2.50g/cm³ min) yuan/tonne	51780-52370	52075	-2190	Feb 05
Battery separator	China 9μm Wet-process Separator yuan/m²	0.77-0.87	0.82	0	Feb 05
Electrolyte	China Lithium Hexafluorophosphate yuan/tonne	125000-136000	130500	-3500	Feb 05
Electrolyte	China Electrolyte (for LFP Battery) yuan/tonne	29000-34500	31750	-500	Feb 05

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