Recent signals across the lithium battery value chain continue to point in a positive direction. On the supply side, accelerated capacity clearing, combined with rapidly surging energy storage demand and the seasonal peak in the power battery market, are jointly driving a marked recovery in industry sentiment. Lithium carbonate prices have rebounded temporarily to around RMB 170,000 per ton, improving the supply–demand balance and gradually restoring profitability across the value chain. Market consensus increasingly suggests that the lithium battery industry is emerging from its previous cyclical bottom and entering a new medium- to long-term upward cycle.
Recent earnings guidance across the industry shows significant improvements in both revenue and profitability, driven primarily by product mix optimization, operational efficiency gains, and the effective smoothing of raw material price volatility through diversified supply chains and long-term contract mechanisms. This trend indirectly confirms a broad-based recovery in downstream demand, with the industry entering a phase of simultaneous recovery and expansion. More fundamentally, the demand structure is undergoing a reshaping. Whereas the industry was previously dominated by a single driver—new energy vehicles—energy storage is now emerging rapidly as the most important incremental growth engine.
First, energy storage demand growth is significantly outpacing the broader industry, becoming a core driver of expansion. Global shipments of energy storage batteries continue to grow strongly, and the market is entering an accelerated scale-up phase. Over the coming years, energy storage demand growth is expected to consistently exceed that of power batteries, providing a key structural support for lithium demand growth.
Second, multiple application scenarios are jointly driving the expansion of energy storage. On the renewable power generation side, rapid growth in wind and solar capacity is accompanied by increasing intermittency, creating higher requirements for grid balancing capabilities and accelerating large-scale energy storage deployment. On the consumption side, ongoing power market reforms and widening peak–off-peak price spreads are improving the economics of commercial and industrial storage, with business models becoming increasingly clear. At the same time, the expansion of AI computing infrastructure is significantly increasing demand for highly reliable backup power in data centers, further broadening the application boundaries of energy storage.
Driven jointly by residential storage, utility-scale storage, commercial and industrial storage, and backup power for computing infrastructure, energy storage demand is demonstrating both structural and compound growth characteristics, with strong sustainability.
Third, improvements in policy frameworks and market mechanisms are accelerating industry maturation. Governments in multiple regions continue to introduce supportive policies for new energy storage, defining medium- and long-term installation targets while progressively refining mechanisms for electricity market participation and capacity compensation. This is transforming energy storage from a “supporting asset” into an independent revenue-generating asset class. In overseas markets, rising energy security concerns and grid stability requirements are driving rapid expansion in storage investment and procurement, pushing the global market into a multi-regional synchronized growth phase.
Fourth, profitability and risk resilience across the industry value chain are strengthening simultaneously. Continuous technological iteration is improving energy density, safety, and cycle life, thereby increasing product value. Meanwhile, supply chain management, long-term procurement agreements, and regionalized deployment strategies are becoming more mature, enhancing cost control capabilities and strengthening resilience against raw material price volatility. As a result, the industry’s profit model is shifting from price-driven returns toward a structure driven by optimization and efficiency.
Overall, the lithium battery industry is transitioning from single-driver growth led by new energy vehicles to a new stage characterized by coordinated development across multiple scenarios, including energy storage, mobility, and emerging applications. This results in a more balanced growth structure and significantly improved visibility and certainty. Amid this key cyclical transition, BICHEM believes that salt lake lithium extraction technologies are entering a critical window of opportunity. As energy storage demand accelerates and lithium consumption continues to expand, low-cost, high-efficiency, and environmentally friendly extraction technologies will become core competitive advantages. As a key incremental resource base, salt lakes will play a decisive role in shaping the industry’s cost curve and supply stability.
