According to the latest survey conducted by Jibang Consulting New Energy Research Center (EnergyTrend), the price of cobalt metal in the first quarter of 2018 is high, and the third quarter lithium battery core is estimated to increase by 5~15%, but the price is in the first. There are opportunities to stay steady in the four seasons.
      EnergyTrend senior research manager Lu Lijun pointed out that reflecting the increase in material costs in the first quarter, the overall IT battery core price continued to rise in the second quarter, but because some manufacturers have prepared in advance, the price increase is flatter than expected, the third quarter increase is significant improve. Among them, the price of square battery rose slightly, the increase was about 6~8%; cylindrical battery not only reflected the material cost, but also reduced the supply capacity, maintaining the shortage situation, the increase was about 7~9%; Most, the estimated is about 10~15%.
       In other important components of the battery system, the displacement of the vehicle's capacity will expand from the capacitor to passive components such as resistors and inductors. In the third quarter, the resistance is the highest component of the single-quarter price increase, with an amplitude of about 5-10%. As for the capacitor, it maintains a slight increase of about 3~5%. The reason for the price increase is mainly because of the car. Application occupies part of the supply capacity of IT.
       In terms of battery technology development, manufacturers are still working to increase energy density, for example, using high-nickel materials and high-voltage methods. However, high-nickel batteries have higher requirements for material structure stability and battery core process conditions, and the current development is concentrated in Japanese suppliers; high-voltage methods are more commonly used in digital products, and Chinese suppliers have begun to cut into.
       As for the market situation of cobalt metal that the market is concerned about, the original market expects that the rapid development of China's new energy vehicles will greatly increase the demand for cobalt materials, causing a surge in the price of cobalt metal. However, from a fundamental point of view, since the current global demand for cobalt mines is about 110,000 to 120,000 tons per year, the demand for new energy vehicles in China only accounts for 7,000 to 8,000 tons per year, which is difficult to affect the overall supply and demand balance in the short term. EnergyTrend expects that Congo's infectious disease problem may affect cobalt metal production capacity, and the progress of high-nickel material introduction in the third quarter will also have an impact on cobalt metal demand, which will affect the future price changes of cobalt metal market.