21 orders to see the evolution trend of the lifepo4 battery industry

The downstream market demand is strong, and orders for the lifepo4 battery industry are full.

High-tech lifepo4 battery statistics are not complete. In 2021, the lithium battery industry (batteries, lithium mines, lithium salts, materials, equipment production lines, etc.) has disclosed 21 orders, mainly involving CATL, Yiwei Lithium Energy, Tianyi Lithium, Xingyuan Material, Leading Intelligence, LG, SKI, Northvolt and other domestic and foreign companies in the lithium battery industry chain.

By reviewing Q1 orders, we can see some evolution trends in the lifepo4 battery market in the future.

First, international car companies have more diversified choices of power battery suppliers, and gradually shift from Korean to Chinese companies, and the global power battery competition may be reshaped.

Previously, international car companies that prefer to choose Japanese and Korean battery companies are increasingly inclined to Chinese companies, including CATL once again won the third batch of purchase orders from Hyundai, Volkswagen increased its purchases of CATL batteries, and the addition of Wanxiang One, Two, Three, Yiwei Lithium can get Jaguar Land Rover fixed point and so on.

In addition, Gaogong Lithium was informed that Volkswagen China has helped Guoxuan High-Tech to meet the requirements of suppliers by dispatching expert groups and other means. The supplier's fixed-point review of MEB platform power batteries carried out by Guoxuan High-Tech is progressing smoothly.

It can be seen that the layout of international car companies in the field of power batteries in China is, on the one hand, to maintain power battery supply and promote supply chain coordination through signing contracts, increasing procurement efforts, project landing, and capital holdings, etc. The lifepo4 battery supply of international car companies in China will also show a diversified trend.

On the other hand, Volkswagen’s standard battery cell selection is converted to a square shell. The Korean battery companies LG and SKI that currently supply soft packs and cylinders will be affected. In addition, Hyundai’s third batch of purchases excludes the previous LG, indicating that Chinese battery companies The deepening of the replacement of the Korean series will also affect the competitive situation in the power battery market in the next few years.

The second is that the domestic competition pattern of "one super, many strong" will emerge. At the same time, under the pressure of subsidy decline and intensified market competition, finding overseas markets has become a strategy for many domestic companies.

First of all, from the perspective of the supply chain needs of international car companies, it has become a trend to choose two to four core power battery suppliers according to different projects and different models. The status of the Ningde era as the super leader will be further consolidated, and a batch of domestic second-tier lifepo4 battery companies that have been designated by international car companies will also grow rapidly.

Whether it is directly exporting batteries or supporting new energy vehicle exports, there will still be a group of Chinese power battery companies with the technical strength of automotive-grade products to enter its vision of choice, including AVIC Lithium, Vision AESC, Lishen, Tafel, etc. Companies are also in close contact with international car companies.

Secondly, Xinwangda, a 3C battery company, has successively been designated by Dongfeng Liuzhou Automobile and passenger vehicles, and competition in the domestic power battery supporting market has further intensified. Superimposed on the 2021 domestic new energy vehicle subsidy standard to decline by 20%, domestic battery companies including Weihong Power, Thornton New Energy and other domestic battery companies have gradually invested in overseas markets in strategy, and focused on the commercial vehicle field with relatively less competitive pressure.

Third, under the huge lifepo4 battery demand gap, head batteries, material companies, and OEMs have increased their control over upstream raw materials.

Under the deterministic trend of the development of new energy vehicles, the rapid recovery of global demand has led to a shortage of upstream resources and high prices. For reasons such as supply security, price stability, and enhanced competitive voice, leading companies in batteries, materials, and OEMs control upstream resources More urgently.

From the perspective of the order situation, the path to lock in the supply of raw materials includes signing long-term orders, joint venture holdings, extending the contract period, and even signing exclusive agreements, including Ningde Times’ increase of shares in Tianyi Lithium and the signing of a 10-year long-term order for cathode materials in Yibin Libao. LG New Energy signed an 8-year lithium salt contract with SQM, AMG exclusively supplied Tianyi Lithium, and BMW signed a long-term purchase order with Livent.

Especially for head battery companies, since the beginning of this year, CATL, Guoxuan High-Tech, LG New Energy, and Yiwei Lithium Energy have significantly increased their investment in upstream raw materials. It is foreseeable that in the future, more companies will participate in the upstream raw material jamming battle.

Fourth, leading companies continue to initiate equipment procurement, while domestic equipment gradually penetrates into the European supply chain, ushering in an opportunity to go overseas, and it is expected that there will be an explosion of demand in the next few years.

Continuing the procurement boom in the fourth quarter of last year, CATL continued to start the procurement of lithium battery equipment. More than 10 companies including Han's Laser, Hymson Laser, and Pioneer Intelligence have successively obtained large equipment orders, involving nearly tens of billions of dollars.

In addition, due to the huge gap in the supply of power batteries in Europe, domestic equipment is accelerating its penetration into the European supply chain. Following the supply of Northvolt, in January, Pioneer Intelligent signed a cooperation agreement with BMW to provide it with an overall solution for the PACK intelligent production line of new energy vehicles.

In addition to leading intelligence, equipment companies including Lyrico, Jiatuo Intelligent and other equipment companies are also actively contacting European lifepo4 battery companies. It is expected that more domestic lithium battery equipment companies will go to Europe in the future.