TrendForce expects battery cell prices to continue to face downward pressure at the beginning of the third quarter, with hopes for price stabilization resting on restocking demand under the peak season at the end of the third quarter.

China's lithium carbonate remains in oversupply, leading to continued price pressure, which in turn is putting downward pressure on power battery cell prices, said market research firm TrendForce.

As the oversupply situation is difficult to resolve in the short term, the price of lithium carbonate in China fell to a new low for the year, from more than RMB 100,000 ($13,750) per ton last month to around RMB 90,000, TrendForce said in a report released on July 8.

As raw material prices continue to fall, battery costs are falling again, and the price of power battery cells will continue to fall, the report said.

Battery cells for electric vehicles (EVs) fell about 1 percent to 2 percent in June from May, according to TrendForce.

The average price of square ternary cells for EVs was RMB 0.49 per Wh in June, down 2.2 percent from May. The average price of square lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells was RMB 0.42 per Wh in June, down 2.6 percent from May. The average price of soft-pack ternary cells was RMB 0.51 per Wh in June, down 1.2 percent from May.

The average price of square LFP cells for energy storage was RMB 0.41 per Wh in June, down 4.2 percent from May.

The mid-year intensive purchasing peak is over, and orders for energy storage batteries are starting to show signs of decline, TrendForce said.

Meanwhile, the decline in lithium carbonate prices has made it difficult to form a stable support for the price of energy storage batteries, leading to a decline in the prices, according to the report.

Price competition for energy storage cells continues, with battery cell and system vendors fighting for orders through low-pricing strategies, resulting in current prices for energy storage cells and systems even lower than the cost range of most vendors, TrendForce said.

TrendForce expects battery cell prices to continue to face downward pressure in the early third quarter, with hopes for price stabilization or rebound resting on inventory replenishment demand during the peak season at the end of the third quarter.

($1 = RMB 7.2726)

Sunwoda expects all-solid-state battery costs to fall to levels near semi-solid-state batteries by 2026