Lithium hydroxide market demand is growing strongly and the industry scale will continue to expand in the future

Lithium hydroxide is an important basic lithium salt product. It appears as white monoclinic fine crystals, has a spicy taste, is highly alkaline, is soluble in water, is slightly soluble in ethanol, and is insoluble in ether. Lithium hydroxide has a wide range of applications, including batteries, automobiles, aircraft, mechanical lubricants, chemical industry and other fields. In the battery field, lithium hydroxide is mainly used as a lithium source for lithium battery cathode materials and as a high-nickel cathode material for ternary materials.

In recent years, my country’s new energy vehicle market has developed rapidly, and production and sales have continued to grow. According to data from the China Automobile Association, from January to June 2022, my country’s new energy vehicle production and sales reached 2.661 million vehicles and 2.600 million vehicles respectively. Lithium hydroxide is a key preparation material for high-nickel ternary lithium-ion batteries. Market demand is driven by the development of the new energy vehicle industry. Thanks to the expansion of new energy vehicle production and sales, the market demand for lithium hydroxide continues to rise.

According to the “2022 Lithium Hydroxide Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Analysis Report released by the Industrial Research Center, in recent years, my country has The supply of lithium hydroxide is increasing year by year. From 2016 to 2021, the output of lithium hydroxide increased from about 28,000 tons to 176,000 tons. my country is the world’s largest producer of lithium hydroxide. While its production capacity meets domestic market demand, it is also exported to overseas markets. Among them, Japan, South Korea and other countries are the main export destinations for domestically produced lithium hydroxide.

The market demand for lithium hydroxide is growing strongly. Due to the mismatch between supply and demand, the global lithium hydroxide market price is on an upward trend. Factors such as strong growth in demand and rising prices have attracted many companies to expand into the lithium hydroxide market. In the domestic market, lithium hydroxide production capacity is mainly distributed in Jiangxi Province, Sichuan Province, Jiangsu Province, etc. The main production companies include Yabao Group, Gan Feng Lithium Industry, Tianqi Lithium Industry, Yahua Group, Ronghuitong, etc. Among them, Yabao Group and Ganfeng Lithium Industry accounted for more than 55.0% of the market. From this point of view, my country’s lithium hydroxide production capacity is highly concentrated.

From the perspective of the import and export market, my country is a major producer of lithium hydroxide. In order to expand the market, domestic companies have opened up overseas space. Therefore, my country’s lithium hydroxide import and export market has been in a state of trade surplus for a long time. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, In 2021, my country’s lithium hydroxide export volume will be approximately 74,000 tons, and its import volume will be less than 4,000 tons. Imported lithium hydroxide mainly comes from Chile, which accounts for about three-quarters of total imports.

Industry analysts said that lithium hydroxide is a key preparation material for high-nickel ternary lithium-ion batteries. In recent years, thanks to With the development of the new energy automobile industry, the market demand for lithium hydroxide has grown strongly, and the industry scale has continued to expand. my country is a major producer of lithium hydroxide. While its production capacity meets domestic market demand, it is also exported to overseas markets. With the release of production capacity and the expansion of export scale, my country’s share of the international lithium hydroxide market is expected to further increase.