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Constrained by carbon neutrality and carbon peaking targets and enveloped by a bullish backdrop of declining system costs, the global installed capacity of wind and solar energy has shown a steady growth trend over the past five years. According to TrendForce statistics, the cumulative installed capacity of global renewable energy in 2021 was approximately 3,064GW (gigawatts), with an average annual growth rate of approximately 8-10% and 88% as the highest application of wind and solar energy in any area.
As a consequence of rising power battery raw material prices, a number of global new energy vehicle (NEV) brands including Tesla, BYD, NIO, Li Auto, and Volkswagen, have successively raised the sales prices of electric vehicles (EV) in 1Q22. TrendForce believes that power batteries are the core component that account for the greatest portion of an EV’s overall cost and reducing the cost of power batteries will be an important strategy for companies to remain competitive in the future. As technology continues to innovate, lithium iron phosphate batteries are expected to account for more than 60% of installed capacity in the global power battery market by 2024.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has escalated in recent days. In addition to the surge in natural gas and crude oil prices, the conflict may also impact the supply of non-ferrous metals including aluminum, nickel, and copper. According to TrendForce, nickel is a key upstream raw material for the manufacture of electric vehicle power batteries and mainly used in the production of ternary cathode materials. In 2021, global nickel mine production was approximately 2.7 million tons, originating primarily from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Russia. Russian nickel production accounts for approximately 9% of the world's total (including low, medium, and high-grade nickel), ranking third globally. At present, the market penetration rate of new energy vehicles is accelerating and ternary power batteries account for nearly half of power battery market share, which signals strengthening demand for upstream raw material nickel for automotive power batteries. Although Russian nickel exports remain unaffected for the time being, if the situation on the ground between Russia and Ukraine continues to deteriorate, global nickel supply may be impacted in the short term, pushing up nickel prices, and further increase cost pressures on end product markets such as the electric vehicle industry.
With the explosion of new energy vehicle (NEV) production and sales, the installed capacity of power batteries has also seen rapid growth, in turn promoting the rising demand for battery materials, according to TrendForce’s investigations. Among battery materials, cathode materials are most in demand for power batteries and their shipments have benefited from the rapid growth of the NEV market. It is estimated that the global demand for power battery cathode materials in 2021 will reach 600,000 tons and this number is expected to exceed 2.15 million tons by 2025.
Along with the swift development of the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, the number of retired power batteries has risen year over year with Chinese waste power battery volume estimated to exceed 18GWh in 2021 and reach 91GWh by 2025, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. Currently, power battery recycle and reuse is primarily divided into echelon utilization and material recycling. Chinese waste battery material recycling already possesses a certain scale with a 2020 market size of RMB2.4 billion and it is estimated to reach RMB26 billion by 2025.