The continuous popularity of new energy automobile industry and lithium battery sector has promoted lithium battery copper foil to become a hot commodity.
Xuan Jiyou, director of Qianmen asset investment and research, said in an interview with the Securities Daily a few days ago, “lithium copper foil, as the core material of lithium battery negative collector, is an important link in the supply chain layout of power battery enterprises. The rapid development of new energy vehicle industry has led to the rapid growth of power battery installed capacity, thus promoting the substantial growth of lithium copper foil demand.”
In this context, upstream enterprises seize the opportunity to extend the industrial chain and layout the field of lithium copper foil. At the same time, Nuode Investment Co.Ltd(600110) , Guangdong Jiayuan Technology Co.Ltd(688388) and other lithium copper foil leading enterprises have also increased their production capacity.
demand is rising and products are in short supply
In recent years, with the rapid development of electronics, new energy vehicles and 5g industries, the market demand for lithium battery copper foil shows an increasing trend. According to the survey and statistics of the Institute of lithium battery research (GGII), in 2020, the shipment of lithium battery copper foil in China reached 146000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 17.8%.
With the growth of demand, lithium copper foil also faces multiple barriers. Huaan Securities Co.Ltd(600909) analyst Wang Hongyan said that the new capacity expansion cycle of lithium copper foil is long. According to the new projects of head enterprises, the current capacity expansion cycle of lithium copper foil is basically about 2-3 years. In addition, although Chinese equipment enterprises are accelerating the domestic replacement of cathode rollers, the cathode rollers for the production of extremely thin lithium copper foil still depend on imports, and the equipment supply is tight, further prolonging the production expansion cycle of lithium copper foil.
Xuan Jiyou said that lithium copper foil also has the characteristics of high technical difficulty, low input-output ratio and high environmental protection pressure, high barriers to production expansion, difficult to release production capacity and difficult to fill the short-term supply-demand gap, but it also reflects its huge market space in the future.
According to GGII data, the global demand for lithium battery copper foil is expected to be 380000 tons in 2021, with a year-on-year increase of 52%. Among them, the demand for power battery copper foil was 240000 tons, with a year-on-year increase of 75%; By 2025, the global total demand for lithium battery copper foil will reach 1.09 million tons. It can be seen that the demand for lithium battery copper foil will have three times the growth space in the next five years.
In fact, due to the rising demand for lithium copper foil, the enterprise is basically in full production, but the market is still in short supply, driving its price rising. Data display, 8 μ M and 6 μ M copper foil increased from 72000 yuan / ton and 91000 yuan / ton at the low point in mid-2020 to 106000 yuan / ton and 122500 yuan / ton in November this year, with an increase of 47.22% and 34.62% respectively.
The volume and price of products increased simultaneously, and the performance of relevant enterprises increased significantly. Taking Nuode Investment Co.Ltd(600110) and Guangdong Jiayuan Technology Co.Ltd(688388) as examples, in the first three quarters of this year, the two enterprises achieved operating revenue of 3.236 billion yuan and 1.987 billion yuan respectively, with a year-on-year increase of 137.26% and 151.91% respectively; The net profit was RMB 322 million and RMB 394 million respectively, with a year-on-year increase of 2070.12% and 238.38% respectively.
upstream enterprises layout lithium copper foil track
The market is hot, and upstream enterprises seize the opportunity to enter the lithium copper foil track.
The leading copper processing enterprise Zhejiang Hailiang Co.Ltd(002203) announced in November this year that it plans to set up a holding subsidiary, Gansu Hailiang new energy materials Co., Ltd., in Lanzhou New Area, Gansu Province, to invest 8.9 billion yuan to build a 150000 ton high-performance copper foil material project, which will be constructed in three phases, 50000 tons in each phase, and is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2025. After the project is put into operation, the company will form a production capacity of 150000 tons / year of high-performance copper foil, including 120000 tons / year of lithium battery copper foil and 30000 tons / year of standard copper foil.
Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co.Ltd(601212) also laid out the lithium copper foil track in 2018. The main construction body of the project is Gansu Defu new materials Co., Ltd., and Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co.Ltd(601212) holds 37%. In October 2019, the above projects have been completed and put into operation, realizing a capacity of 12000 T / A, and a capacity of 30000 T / a will be formed by the end of 2021. On December 7, Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co.Ltd(601212) announced that the company plans to increase the above-mentioned capacity of 30000 tons / year by 170000 tons / year and cooperate in the construction of 200000 tons / year high-grade lithium battery copper foil project.
It is reported that the main product of the above project is 4.5 μ m、6 μ M electrolytic copper foil for lithium battery. From the current lithium copper foil market, China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Co.Ltd(600482) battery manufacturers Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) have been used on a large scale 6 μ M lithium copper foil; Mainstream manufacturers such as Byd Company Limited(002594) , Gotion High-Tech Co.Ltd(002074) and Tianjin Lishen are fully using 6 μ M lithium copper foil.
leading enterprises have increased their capacity
Lithium copper foil leading enterprises are expanding production capacity one after another.
Guangdong Jiayuan Technology Co.Ltd(688388) the fixed increase plan was disclosed on November 6. It is planned to raise no more than 4.9 billion yuan for the high-performance lithium battery copper foil project. The raised funds are mainly used for the construction of high-performance lithium battery copper foil and high-end electrolytic copper foil production lines in Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangxi, Fujian and other places. On November 10, Guangdong Jiayuan Technology Co.Ltd(688388) it is planned to build a high-end copper foil construction project with an annual output of 50000 tons in Mei County, Guangdong Province.
Nuode Investment Co.Ltd(600110) issued a fixed increase plan in June, and plans to raise no more than RMB 2.288 billion for electrolytic copper foil project for high-performance ultra thin lithium-ion battery in Qinghai and electrolytic copper foil project for power battery in Huizhou. After all of them are completed, the company will form an annual production capacity of 85000 tons of lithium battery copper foil.
Guangdong Chaohua Technology Co.Ltd(002288) on February 1, it was announced that it plans to invest 12.26 billion yuan to build a lithium battery copper foil production base in Yulin City, Guangxi, and will build a high-precision electronic copper foil project with an annual output of 100000 tons.
Xuan Jiyou told reporters, “at present, the production capacity of lithium battery copper foil has not been released. Facing the strong demand of new energy vehicles, energy storage and other industries, copper foil enterprises are accelerating the progress of production expansion.”
(Securities Daily)
