Latest Update in the SMM Lithium Market

According to SMM research, as of March 2025, the overall recycling volume in the SMM-monitored market (black powder basis) rose by approximately 28.0% month-on-month (MoM) and 33.9% year-on-year (YoY). Driven by steady growth in demand from the power and energy storage sectors, both MoM and YoY metrics showed improvement, with recycling activity increasing significantly.

During the period of April 7–11, new developments in the battery recycling sector have emerged across multiple regions:

The dense media separation (DMS) processing plant at the site has cumulatively produced over 11,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to date, demonstrating steady progress toward commercial production. During the final week of March 2025, the plant processed 13,400 tonnes of raw ore, yielding 1,920 tonnes of spodumene concentrate grading 5.63% Li₂O.

This week, lithium carbonate spot prices saw a notable decline, with the SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate index dropping by CNY 911/ton to CNY 71,787/ton, driven by macroeconomic uncertainty and persistent oversupply.

[SMM Analysis]Recently, the United States has generally increased reciprocal tariffs on countries worldwide. However, the overall impact of this round of increased reciprocal tariffs on new energy vehicles is limited。This article summarizes the tariffs on new energy vehicles shipped from major countries around the globe at the current stage.