The global DMC leader SDSD Chemical Technology Group is currently producing at full capacity in 24 hours, and the product price has doubled in two months, but the product is still in short supply. The relevant person in charge of SDSD said that benefiting from the Tesla Model 3 and other lithium iron phosphate battery models, the supply of lithium battery solvents such as battery-grade DMC is in short supply, and orders for five solvents are scheduled to be three months later, of which DMC, EMC and EC are the most tense. .
DMC solvent is in full production, EMC and EC solvent are each expanded by 20,000 tons
SDSD is the world's largest manufacturer of lithium battery solvent DMC, and the only leading manufacturer in the world that provides a complete set of five electrolyte solvents, solutes and additives. Among Tesla battery solvent suppliers, SDSD is at the absolute core. Tesla in the United States uses all Panasonic batteries, while Panasonic purchases electrolyte from Mitsubishi Chemical of Japan. SDSD is the only supplier of Mitsubishi Chemical in China (battery-grade DMC). In addition, because Mitsubishi has extremely strict supplier audits, SDSD's exclusive supplier status may be difficult to shake in the short term.
Tesla in China uses CATL batteries. CATL purchases electrolytes from JSGT and TCCL. SDSD accounts for 90% of JSGT battery-grade DMC purchases and more than 50% of TCCL battery-grade DMC purchases.
The relevant person in charge of SDSD said that the recent five solvent orders will be scheduled to be three months later, among which DMC, EMC and EC are the most tense. Among the major downstream customers, the shipment volume of electrolytes such as TCCL, JSGT and BYD has soared. In order to ensure the supply of major customers, the company has completed the transformation and expansion of EMC and EC solvents by 20,000 tons each, and DMC solvents have reached full production. The annual production capacity of lithium hexafluorophosphate is 2,000 tons, and the price has risen to 90,000 yuan/ton.
After the price has doubled, the supply is still in short supply
Since August, China's domestic DMC ex-factory acceptance price has risen all the way from 5650 yuan/ton, an increase of more than 100%, a continuous record high. On October 12, SDSD battery-grade DMC was raised, quoting 17,000 yuan/ton.
The person in charge of SDSD sales said that in the near future, it mainly focuses on ensuring the supply of major customers, and most orders are executed for high-priced large orders. The company's industrial-grade DMC only sells a small amount of external sales, mostly self-use refined battery-grade DMC; it benefits from Tesla Model3 For lithium iron phosphate battery models, battery-grade DMC and other lithium battery solvents are in short supply. Lithium batteries are scheduled to enter the peak season in the fourth quarter, and the proportion of lithium iron phosphate batteries is gradually increasing. It is expected that the supply of DMC solvents will continue to be tight and prices are bullish.
The person in charge of SDSD said that in the current and foreseeable future, demand for electric vehicles such as Xiaopeng, Weilai, Ideal, and Tesla continues to erupt from the C side, which will further increase the market demand for battery upstream materials and solvents.
At present, the volume and price of battery-grade DMC are rising, which has not brought too much pressure on the ecology of the industrial chain. The person in charge of SDSD told Hay Think that solvents only account for 15% of the cost of the electrolyte, and price increases can be carried on quickly. Downstream companies are now most worried about not the price but whether the supply is sufficient.
Global electric vehicle sales are expected to reach 12 million in 2025, and global demand for lithium batteries will reach 890 Gwh by 2025, of which vehicle power is about 700 Gwh; the overall demand for electrolyte is about 760,000 tons, and the demand for electrolyte solvents is about 600,000 tons. The 5-year compound growth rate is expected to reach 24%. In addition, in addition to the outbreak of electric vehicles, China's vigorous promotion of wind power photovoltaic industry and 5G base station construction will lead to an increase in the demand for energy storage batteries.
The person in charge of SDSD said that the 4G era is lead-acid batteries, and the mainstream of the 5G era is iron-lithium batteries. According to the 14th Five-Year Plan of the country, 25GW of new energy storage needs will be added every year, and the demand will reach 1.5 million GW in five years. This is the current electric vehicle The annual demand for energy storage batteries is more than twice that of 60-70GW, which will further increase the market's demand for solvents.
Since LFP batteries use more electrolyte than ternary batteries, the demand for LFP batteries in the passenger car field and the communications energy storage market will further increase in the future, which is expected to drive further growth in the demand for electrolyte solvents.