Recently, government initiatives supporting the new energy vehicle sector, consumer electronics, and energy storage industries have created a favorable policy environment for the application of energy metals.

Brokerage analysts indicate that the lithium sector has shown signs of improvement, with an accelerated approach towards a new recovery phase in the short term.

The lithium battery industry chain encompasses multiple links, including upstream raw materials, the four key lithium battery materials, auxiliary materials, lithium battery manufacturing, and downstream applications.

In the upstream sector, materials include battery-grade lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium hexafluorophosphate.

The four essential components of lithium batteries consist of positive electrode materials, negative electrode materials, electrolytes, and separators.

Downstream lithium batteries can be categorized into three main types: consumer, power, and energy storage batteries.

The lithium battery industrial chain and representative manufacturers are as follows:

Cobalt, categorized as a vital industrial metal, is indispensable for manufacturing high-temperature alloys and hard alloys due to its exceptional resistance to heat and corrosion.

In the consumer electronics and power battery sectors, the demand for cobalt keeps growing due to the elevated energy density provided by the cobalt-involved ternary materials.

The cobalt industrial chain and representative manufacturers are as follows:

Nickel finds widespread applications in various fields such as steel, machinery manufacturing, and construction.

The nickel industry chain is complex and consists of a variety of products

Under certain conditions, various products can be exchanged, forming a tightly-knit and systematic nickel industry network.

Nickel ores are mainly divided into two categories: laterite nickel ore and sulfide nickel oreLaterite nickel ore, with its abundant reserves, high grade, and relatively easier mining conditions, has become the primary supplier of global primary nickel resourcesChina, on the other hand, has relatively scarce nickel resources concentrated mostly in Gansu Province.

In the nickel production sector, companies possessing sulfide nickel ore resources dominate the market, which is characterized by high concentrationThese leading manufacturers typically have a complete industrial chain, spanning from ore mining to refined nickel productionGlobal players such as Glencore, Nornickel, and China’s Jinchuan Group are notable companies endowed with rich sulfide nickel ore resources.

According to publicly available information, Jinchuan Group holds an absolute leading position in China's refined nickel market, accounting for about 70% of the nation’s total output