GGII: 2025H1 China's lithium battery shipments increased 68% year-on-year

The Zhitong Finance App learned that preliminary research data from the Advanced Industrial Research Institute (GGII) showed that China's lithium battery shipments in 2025H1 were 776 GWh, an increase of 68% over the previous year. Among them, shipments of power and energy storage batteries were 477 GWh and 265 GWh respectively, with year-on-year increases of 49% and 128%, respectively.

2024-2025H1 China lithium battery shipment volume (GWh)

Description: Power lithium batteries include terminal batteries for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, construction machinery, special vehicles, etc.; energy storage lithium batteries include batteries for large storage, industrial and commercial storage, portable, communication and data centers; digital lithium batteries include small power batteries such as 3C digital and two-wheelers; data source: Gaogong Industrial Research Institute of Lithium Batteries (GGII), July 2025

From January to June 2025, sales of new energy vehicles in China were 6.937 million units, an increase of 40.3% over the previous year. Among them, PHEV models accounted for 36.3%, reaching 2,521,000 units. In 2025H1, China exported 1.06 million new energy vehicles, an increase of 75.2% over the previous year.

In the power sector, in 2025H1, China's lithium iron phosphate power battery shipment volume was 372 GWh, accounting for 78% of total power battery shipments, an increase of 68% over the previous year. Mainly lithium iron phosphate batteries have gradually made up for their shortcomings in terms of fast charging and range. In addition, overseas car companies (Volkswagen, BMW, etc.) are speeding up the switch to lithium iron phosphate batteries, which has led to an increase in their shipments.

In the field of energy storage, with the exception of April, the domestic energy storage market remained hot in May/June. End customers were desperate to sell goods, and domestic energy storage battery companies' production schedules remained high, driving Q2 energy storage battery shipments to increase 94% month-on-month. Domestic energy storage lithium battery shipments have maintained a year-on-year growth rate of over 120% for two consecutive quarters.

Affected by national supplements, the domestic 3C market consumption growth rate was obvious in 2025H1, and the market continued the trend since the second half of 2024. Driven the growth rate of digital lithium battery shipments by more than 25%.

Shipments of main materials other than anode materials grew by more than 40% year on year

According to GGII preliminary research data, China shipped 2.1 million tons of cathode materials in 2025H1, an increase of 53% over the previous year. Among them, 1.61 million tons of lithium iron phosphate materials were shipped, up 68% year on year, accounting for 77% of total cathode material shipments; 350,000 tons of ternary materials were shipped, up 15% year on year; shipments of lithium cobalate and lithium manganate materials were 59,000 tons and 74,000 tons respectively, up 28% and 25% year on year respectively.

The high growth in energy storage batteries and power lithium iron phosphate batteries is the core driving the growth of lithium iron phosphate material shipments.

China's ternary materials shipments began to resume growth in 2025H1, mainly driven by increased exports and increased power battery shipments. Shipments of ternary materials increased by less than 10% in 2025Q1, while shipments of ternary materials increased by 20% year-on-year in Q2. According to customs data, from January to May 2025, China's export volume of ternary materials was about 39,000 tons, and the 2025H1 ternary material export volume was about 48,000 tons. Although it did not reach the peak volume during the 2023H1 period (54,800 tons), it has achieved a significant increase compared to 2024H1 (361,000 tons), and a year-on-year increase of more than 30% compared to 2024H1. The increase in exports is mainly due to the gradual reduction in the impact of the IRA Act and the postponement of the new battery law, driving South Korean companies to gradually increase procurement of domestic ternary materials.

Shipments of lithium cobalate materials are growing rapidly, mainly for three reasons:

1) National supplements drive an increase in domestic digital product shipments;

2) Mass production of new silicon carbon increases the content per unit volume of lithium cobalate batteries and increases the charge capacity of digital products such as mobile phones and notebooks;

3) Cobalt prices have risen, and some battery companies have begun to increase stocks and stocks of lithium cobalate materials.

2024-2025H1 China lithium battery material shipment volume (10,000 tons, 100 million square meters)

Data source: Advanced Industrial Research Institute of Lithium Batteries (GGII), July 2025

In 2025H1, China shipped 13.6 billion square meters of diaphragm materials, an increase of 49% over the previous year. Among them, shipments of wet diaphragms were 11.2 billion square meters, an increase of 58% over the previous year, and the market share reached 82%. The increase in shipments of high-capacity energy storage cells such as 314Ah contributed to an increase in the share of wet diaphragms. High-puncture 5 μm products have been applied on a large scale. Currently, monthly shipments exceed 100 million square meters. At the same time, second-generation high-puncture strength 5 μm diaphragms have been sent to head battery customers, and the puncture strength is close to 500 gf. At the same time, a new generation of high-capacity energy storage battery products (500+/600+Ah) will also accelerate the development of wet diaphragm thickness from 9 μm to 7 μm.

2025H1 China shipped 870,000 tons of electrolyte, up 45% year on year. The growth rate was slower than that of lithium batteries. Mainly due to cost considerations, the electrolyte formula has changed, reducing the amount of electrolyte used per GWh. In terms of price, due to the decline in lithium salt prices, the price of lithium hexafluorophosphate dropped by more than 10% in 2025Q2 compared to 2025Q1, to about 50,000 yuan/ton by the end of June. Product prices in the ternary electrolyte market were relatively stable, while the price of lithium iron electrolyte declined slightly (about 3-6% month-on-month decrease). In terms of market concentration, the concentration of CR5 companies continues to rise (over 73%) thanks to the increase in production from battery manufacturers, with one leading company having a market share of more than 36%.

In 2025H1, China shipped 1.29 million tons of anode materials, an increase of 37% over the previous year. Among them, shipments of artificial graphite and natural graphite materials were 1.17 million tons and 106,000 tons respectively. 2024H1 domestic battery companies stocked large quantities of anode materials, and 2025H1 battery companies stocked relatively little, resulting in the year-on-year growth rate of 2025H1 anode materials being lower than other main materials. In terms of price, the 2025Q1 anode focus price increased by more than 40% month-on-month, and the 2025Q2 price began to decline, but the overall impact on the anode industry was small. In terms of products, a new generation of high-capacity energy storage products has further increased the gram capacity of artificial graphite. Many battery test products have evolved from 350 mAh/g to 353-355 mAh/g, while the compaction density has also evolved from 1.6 g/cm3 to 1.65 g/cm3. In terms of new technology, the new silicon carbon has been shipped in small quantities. In June, the industry shipped about 100 tons, and more than 80% were used in the high-end digital field.

The full year outlook for the lithium battery industry chain in 2025

All segments of the 2025Q3 lithium battery industry chain will continue to maintain a high production trend, and the battery sector is in strong demand for related materials and products such as batteries. Affected by the implementation of US tariffs, it may be difficult for the 2025Q4 energy storage market to maintain the 2025Q3 high production schedule trend. Looking at the whole year, the year-on-year growth rate of China's NEV market will remain above 20% in 2025. Driven by increased demand in overseas power markets, China's power battery shipments are expected to exceed TWh in 2025. In the context of continued high inventory availability in the energy storage sector, the year-on-year growth rate of China's energy storage market shipments in 2025 is expected to exceed 50%, and the market size will exceed 500 GWh.

In terms of production capacity, the industry as a whole is currently still in a state of structural oversupply and demand, and is showing a clear trend of differentiation. Leading enterprises can achieve a capacity utilization rate of more than 70%, while the capacity utilization rate of the bottom enterprises is less than 20%. Considering effective production capacity, whether it is a battery company or a material company, the production capacity rate of all leading companies will remain high in the second half of the year (capacity utilization rate of 75-95%).

It is expected that in terms of lithium iron phosphate materials and lithium energy storage batteries, China is expected to start a new round of production expansion from 2025 H2 to 2026 (the main production expansion is concentrated on leading companies), while leading anode companies will process on behalf of small and medium-sized enterprises and expand their own part of production.

In terms of price, while the industry maintains high production schedules and high capacity utilization rates, the prices of materials such as lithium salt, cathode materials, anodes, electrolytes, and lithium hexafluorophosphate will rise. In terms of copper foil, the overall processing fee for mainstream 6 μm copper foil remained stable and difficult to rise, but the proportion of high-value 4.5 and 5 μm copper foil applications rose sharply. The market share is expected to reach 15-30% in the second half of the year, which is expected to improve the gross profit margin of copper foil companies (currently 4.5 and 5 μm copper foil is 30% higher than the processing fee for mainstream 6 μm copper foil). In the diaphragm sector, the price of dry diaphragm substrates has always been close to the cost line, making it difficult to increase the price throughout the year; the price of wet diaphragm substrates dropped by more than 10% month-on-month in 2025Q2. It is expected that the price of wet diaphragm will remain at the current level in the second half of the year, and the overall trend is declining throughout the year.

In the short term, the cost of lithium batteries for power and energy storage has bottomed out. In the second half of the year, the price of lithium batteries for power and energy storage is expected to rise slightly (2-3%) on the basis of 2025Q2.