In 2022, the Total Output Value of China's Lithium Battery Industry Exceeded one Trillion yuan, the First Time in History

On February 23, 2023, the Electronic Information Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China issued the "Operation Status of the National lithium-ion battery Industry in 2022".

According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in 2022, the national production of lithium-ion batteries reached 750GWh, a year-on-year increase of more than 130%, and the total output value of the industry exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan, about double the total output value of the previous year's 600 billion yuan.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said, in 2022, China's lithium-ion battery industry adhere to supply-side structural reform, accelerate technological innovation, transformation and upgrading development, and constantly improve the supply capacity of advanced products to maintain rapid growth. The overall industry  presents the following characteristics:

First, the output continues to grow rapidly and the scale of the industry continues to expand. According to the calculation of enterprise information and research institute, the output of lithium-ion battery in 2022 reached 750GWh, a year-on-year increase of more than 130%, among which the output of energy-storage lithium battery exceeded 100GWh. The output of positive electrode material, negative electrode material, saperator, electrolyte and other lithium first-order materials is about 1.85 million tons, 1.4 million tons, 13 billion square meters and 850,000 tons respectively, with year-on-year growth of more than 60%; The industrial scale has further expanded, with the total output value exceeding 1.2 trillion yuan.

Second, The accelerated expansion of industrial applications has helped accelerate the process of dual carbon. In 2022, lithium electricity accelerated its rise in the field of new energy vehicles and energy storage fields such as communication energy storage, home energy storage and ushered in a growth window. In 2022, the installed capacity of power batteries for new energy vehicles in China was about 295GWh, and the cumulative installed capacity of lithium energy storage increased by more than 130%. In 2022, China's lithium electricity exports totaled 342.65 billion yuan, up 86.7% year on year, making positive contributions to the efficient development and utilization of new energy and the green low-carbon transformation of the global economy and society.

Third, technological progress has accelerated, and advanced products are emerging in an endless stream. Backbone enterprises have accelerated their layout by focusing on efficient system integration and ultra-large capacity cell, and the energy density of advanced battery products exceeds 250GWh/kg. Flexible, low-temperature resistant and water-resistant new battery products have been successfully applied in the Winter Olympics equipment. The new generation of information technology is further integrated with new energy storage products, and intelligent liquid cooling technology significantly enhances the thermal management level of energy storage systems and reduces system security risks.

Fourth, the industry investment enthusiasm is high, the whole chain to strengthen cooperation. According to incomplete statistics, more than 40 projects are planned for only the cell link in 2022, , with the planned total capacity exceeding 1.2TWh and planned investment of 430 billion yuan. The price of upstream products fluctuated at a high level, and the price of second-order lithium electric materials surged and fell repeatedly. The average annual price of battery-grade lithium carbonate and battery-grade lithium hydroxide (micro-powder grade) reached 481,000 yuan and 464,000 yuan per ton respectively in 2022. Lithium enterprises strengthen the upstream and downstream cooperation of the industrial chain through investment and equity participation, signing long orders, joint research and other forms.

Combined the data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology with the White Paper on the Development of China's Lithium ion Battery Industry (2023) released by EVTank, a domestic research institution, we can see that in 2022, China's lithium ion battery industry will still play a leading role in the world.

According to the white paper, the global total shipment of lithium-ion batteries in 2022 was 957.7GWh, up 70.3 percent year on year. Shipments of lithium ion batteries in China reached 660.8GWh, up 97.7% year on year, exceeding the global average growth rate, and accounting for 69.0% of the global total shipments of lithium ion batteries.

In addition, it is worth noting that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last mentioned that the price of lithium raw materials fluctuated at a high level last year. A week ago, Ouyang Minggao, vice chairman of the China Council of 100 Electric Vehicles, predicted that the price of lithium resources would further return in the second half of this year, and may drop to 350,000 to 400,000 yuan/ton. At the same time, the supply and demand of lithium resources will reach a balance this year, and there will be a surplus next year. In the future, the price equilibrium point will be around 200,000 yuan/ton.

At the same time, Ouyang Minggao stressed that it will not coductive to the healthy development of the industry if the price of the lithium resource too low which will cause recycling of lithium resourse unprofitable.