Ganfeng Lithium Industry increased by 364.02% year-on-year,Yahua Group increased by 278.06% year-on-year,Salt Lake Shares increased by 113.97% year-on-year... Looking at the third-quarter net profit growth data of lithium mining companies in the A-share market, the lithium carbonate industry may have weathered the "freezing period".

"Firstly, the rise in futures prices due to the industry's 'anti-internal competition', and then the actual demand brought about by the outbreak of the energy storage industry," said an executive of a lithium salt company on the A-share market, adding that they have finally breathed a sigh of relief.Energy storagehas played a significant role in driving the collective outbreak of third-quarter performance for industry companies. Currently, looking at the production scheduling of energy storage, the demand for lithium carbonate is expected to remain growth-oriented in the near future.

Energy storage demand drives lithium carbonate prices and quantities to rise

“My Steel” data as of October 31, battery grade lithium carbonate average quotation is 82,100 RMB/ton, up more than 36% from the end of June.

"Compared to the previous long-term sideways movement, the lithium price seems to have risen significantly, but it's already very good. Companies in the industry can at least make some money," an employee of a lithium salt company in Jiangxi told ShanghaiSecurity reporter, adding that the capacity utilization rate of various companies has also greatly improved, in addition to the recovery of lithium prices.

The lithium industry is warming up again, and the catalyst is energy storage. Relevant data show that the global lithium battery energy storage installed capacity exceeded 170GWh in the first three quarters of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 68%.

How strong is the demand for energy storage?Battery companies are basically at full production, and some companies have orders scheduled until the beginning of next year. The upstream and downstream industries of the industry are all operating at full capacity. Thanks to the explosive growth of the energy storage industry, the lithium battery industry chain directly related to it has benefited fully, from lithium hexafluorophosphate to electrolyte to lithium carbonate, the supply and demand pattern has been greatly improved.

The continuous release of energy storage demand has provided strong support for the stability of lithium prices. "The outbreak of energy storage demand has exceeded expectations, and our sales of lithium carbonate in the third quarter increased by nearly 30% compared to the previous quarter," said the person in charge of a lithium salt enterprise in Yichun, indicating that the order share from energy storage customers has increased from about 20% at the beginning of the year to more than 40% now.

The recovery of the market is also directly reflected in the third-quarter reports of industry companies. Take Yaxing Group as an example, the company achieved operating income of 2.624 billion RMB in the third quarter, a year-on-year increase of 31.97%; and achieved a net profit of 198 million RMB, a year-on-year increase of 278.06%. It is understood that the company's lithium salt products sold in large quantities in the third quarter and set a new high for the single quarter sales, and the lithium salt orders in the fourth quarter are sufficient.

Lithium carbonate market may remain in a tight balance state

The high "Prosperity" of energy storage has led to a growth in demand, gradually shifting the lithium carbonate market from "supply exceeds demand" to a "tight balance" state. The most intuitive change is the "scramble for goods" trend has reappeared. "Some customers have directly set up shop at our company, telling us ' produce a ton and we'll take it away,' " said an executive of a lithium carbonate company listed on the A-share market.

Industry research data shows that the production rate of major lithium chemical enterprises in China has remained above 60% in the third quarter, with some leading enterprises reaching full production, but it is still difficult to meet the surge in orders from downstream. The market expects that the monthly output of domestic lithium carbonate in October may exceed 90,000 tons.

Despite a significant increase in demand, the lack of new supply could provide support for the lithium industry's recovery. Against the backdrop of the industry's "anti-internal competition," some lithium-extraction companies in Jiangxi and other places that use mica are still shut down.

At the same time, lithium carbonate inventories have also been quickly "digested". Journalists learned that the lithium carbonate market has been continuously de-stocking since August. Data shows that as of October 30, the total inventory of the domestic lithium carbonate industry chain has dropped to 1.30366 million tons, a decrease of 22,920 tons compared to last month, and the inventory days have dropped to 32 days, the lowest in three years. Among them, the inventory of the downstream link decreased by 24,600 tons compared to the previous month, and the demand for terminal restocking is strong.

For the future trend of supply and demand, most enterprises are optimistic. Some predictions show that the production ratio of storage battery cells has surged from 24% in June to 40% in October. After September, the orders for storage batteries accelerated, and the downstream factories were fully booked in October and November. For exampleNingde Times,BYDand other enterprises orders are scheduled until 2026, and the overall situation is in full production and sales.

Salt lake lithium chain enterprises welcome opportunities

With the double catalysis of the rebound of lithium carbonate prices and the tight balance of supply and demand, the salt lake lithium industry, which has cost advantages, is expected to see value release. It is understood that the full cost of lithium extraction from salt lakes in Qinghai, Tibet and other places is between 30,000 RMB/ton and 40,000 RMB/ton. For lithium extraction from salt lakes, lithium carbonate with a price of more than 80,000 RMB/ton is still a "high gross profit" product at present.

Some market participants say that this part of the supply, which is located on the left side of the global lithium cost curve due to the low operating costs of lithium extraction units from salt lakes, is a rigid supply and will not be cleared out even when the price of lithium carbonate is low. As the price of lithium carbonate gradually increases in this round, the business profits of related enterprises are thickened.

As the development prospects of lithium extraction from salt lakes are good, companies in the industrial chain will also benefit from it, especially those engaged in lithium extraction from salt lakes with "high gold content". Taking Vesib as an example, the company's lithium extraction from salt lake products have been applied to many lithium extraction from salt lake projects and have received positive feedback from customers.

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