Electrolytic cobalt production capacity continues to expand and can be used as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries
According to the different product forms and preparation methods, metal cobalt can be divided into electrolytic cobalt, cobalt powder, cobalt flakes, cobalt grains, cobalt wires and other types. Electrolytic cobalt refers to the metal cobalt made by electrolytic refining method or electrolytic deposition method, which has the advantages of high purity, good ductility, good magnetism, corrosion resistance and good conductivity, and is widely used in battery manufacturing, chemical synthesis, metal smelting and other fields.
In recent years, the state has attached great importance to the development of the cobalt metal industry and has introduced a number of encouraging policies. In January 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Education and other six departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Energy Electronics Industry", which clearly proposes to promote the development of the energy storage battery industry and improve the ability to guarantee key resources such as platinum, lithium, nickel, and cobalt. In the future, with the support of national policies and the continuous efforts of local enterprises, the development trend of the electrolytic cobalt industry in mainland China will continue to improve.
The preparation methods of electrolytic cobalt include electrolytic refining, electrolytic deposition, extraction and ion exchange. After years of development, the maturity of China's electrolytic cobalt technology has been continuously improved, driving its production capacity to continue to expand and its output to grow. According to the "2024-2029 China Electrolytic Cobalt Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospect Forecast Report" released by the Xinsijie Industry Research Center, the mainland's electrolytic cobalt production capacity will reach nearly 30,000 tons in 2023, creating a record high.
The battery field is the largest demand for electrolytic cobalt, which can be used as a cathode material for nickel-metal hydride batteries, lithium-ion batteries and manganese batteries. With the improvement of the prosperity of new energy vehicles and consumer electronics industries in mainland China, lithium-ion battery shipments continue to grow. According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, the total shipments of lithium-ion batteries in mainland China will exceed 940 GWh in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 25%. Compared with other cathode materials, electrolytic cobalt has the advantages of good cycle stability, high specific energy, and good high temperature stability, and its market space will continue to expand with the acceleration of downstream industries in the future.
Major producers of electrolytic cobalt in mainland China include Nanjing Hanrui Cobalt Co., Ltd., Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Materials Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd., Shanghai Geological Nickel and Cobalt Materials Co., Ltd., Guangxi Yinyi New Materials Co., Ltd., etc. Hanrui Cobalt focuses on the R&D, production and sales of cobalt products and copper products, and has a complete cobalt product industry chain from cobalt ore development to battery cathode material manufacturing, and in July 2023, the company's annual output of 5,000 tons of electrolytic cobalt project entered the trial production stage.
Industry analysts said that with the increasing demand for lithium-ion battery applications, electrolytic cobalt is used as its cathode material, and the development trend of the industry continues to improve. Benefiting from national policy support and technological progress, the mainland's electrolytic cobalt production capacity continues to expand. In terms of market competition, there are many electrolytic cobalt production enterprises in mainland China. It is expected that in the future, with the continuous efforts of local enterprises, the development speed of the mainland electrolytic cobalt industry will accelerate.