Key Takeaways:
Ganfeng Lithium (01772.HK) expects accelerated growth in its energy storage battery shipments in 2026, pointing to a market where solid demand growth is outpacing a challenged supply chain for the key battery metal.
“Since the beginning of this year, overall demand growth in the lithium industry has been solid, while the supply side has faced numerous challenges, resulting in a relatively tight supply-demand balance for lithium products,” the company stated at an online results briefing, according to mainland media reports.
The company’s forecast is reinforced by price expectations from the world’s second-largest lithium producer, Chile’s SQM. An executive from the firm recently projected lithium carbonate prices would trade in a $15-$18 per kilogram range in 2026, a significant recovery from the 2025 slump and well above the $7-$8 levels seen last year.
Ganfeng also suggested that persistently high oil prices could speed up the transition to new energy sources, further bolstering medium- to long-term demand for lithium. This comes as the energy storage sector, a key consumer of lithium batteries, is seeing increased demand from the build-out of data centers to support the AI boom, according to SQM.
The supply-side challenges mentioned by Ganfeng are evident across the industry. Earlier this year, Zimbabwe, which supplied about 15% of China's lithium concentrate imports in 2025, suspended all raw mineral exports before granting quotas to select Chinese firms, including Yahua Group and Chengxin Lithium. This highlights the geopolitical maneuvering involved in securing the critical material.
The anxiety over raw material availability is prompting major players to move upstream. Competitor and major battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) recently earmarked $4.4 billion for a new critical minerals mining subsidiary to secure its own supply chain. CATL has also been a major driver of battery innovation, leading a surge of over 1,710 solid-state battery patent applications filed globally in the first quarter of 2026.
Ganfeng, which sends 70% of its lithium to China, noted its battery cell capacity utilization rate remains high, positioning it to capitalize on the favorable market dynamics.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
