Driving Innovation: Direct Imaging vs. Conventional Exposure
It’s Only Common Sense: Selling to Today's Generation of Buyers
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘Believe in Better'
Prices of Lithium-ion Batteries to Increase by 5-15% in 3Q18
August 6, 2018 | TrendForceEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Cobalt prices have reached another record high in 1Q18, according to the data from EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce. As the result, the prices of lithium-ion battery cells are estimated to increase by 5-15% QoQ in 3Q18 but would have a chance to remain flat in the fourth quarter.
According to Duff Lu, senior research manager of EnergyTrend, the overall prices of IT batteries have been growing since 2Q18 due to the rising costs of materials in 1Q18, but the growth was more moderate than expected as some battery makers had stocked up in advance. However, the price growth would be steeper in 3Q18. Particularly, prismatic cells, cylindrical cells, and polymer cells would witness a QoQ price growth of 6-8%, 7-9%, and 10-15% respectively. In addition to rising material costs, the increase of cylindrical cell prices is also due to the undersupply of this cell type because of decreasing production capacity of suppliers.
Manufacturers of key battery system components have allocated increasing capacity to automotive components, which has squeezed capacity for capacitance. In addition to capacitance, the impact on production capacity has been expanded to passive components such as resistors and inductor. In 3Q18, resistors are expected to see a QoQ price rise of 5-10%, the highest among all the components. As for capacitance, it would see a small price increase of 3-5%, because automotive components have occupied some of the production capacity that is originally for IT applications.
In terms of battery technology development, some manufacturers have introduced solutions with a higher ratio of nickel or higher voltage to increase the energy density. However, a higher ratio of nickel brings along higher requirements for material structure stability and better conditions for the battery cell manufacturing process. Therefore, suppliers of high-nickel cells are mainly based in Japan. As for high-voltage solutions, they are commonly used in digital products. Chinese battery cell manufacturers have begun to cut into this field.
As for the market of cobalt, it previously experienced a price hike, because the market expected the rapid development of China's new energy vehicles to boost the cobalt demand. However, the demand from China is not expected to influence the global demand-supply situation of cobalt significantly in the near term. This is because the global demand for cobalt is around 110,000 to 120,000 tons per year currently, of which only about 7,000 to 8,000 tons come from new energy vehicles in China. EnergyTrend notes that the issue of illnesses related to cobalt mining in Congo may affect the production capacity of this metal. Meanwhile, the introduction of high-nickel solutions to the market in 3Q18 would also have certain impacts on cobalt demand. The two factors would jointly affect the future price trend of cobalt.
About TrendForce
TrendForce is a global provider of the latest development, insight, and analysis of the technology industry. Having served businesses for over a decade, the company has built up a strong membership base of 435,000 subscribers. TrendForce has established a reputation as an organization that offers insightful and accurate analysis of the technology industry through five major research divisions: DRAMeXchange, WitsView, LEDinside, EnergyTrend and Topology. Founded in Taipei, Taiwan in 2000, TrendForce has extended its presence in China since 2004 with offices in Shenzhen and Beijing.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Count On Tools Recognizes Donna Orr’s Ongoing Leadership and Impact Across 27+ Years
06/26/2025 | Count On ToolsCount On Tools, Inc. (COT), a leading provider of precision components and SMT spare parts, is proud to recognize Donna Orr, Executive Manager, for her continued dedication and leadership as she marks more than 27 years with the company.
A Record Year for the 75th Annual IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC)
06/26/2025 | ECTCThe 75th annual 2025 IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC), held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center here May 27-30, had record attendance, a record number of paper submissions/presentations, record international and student participation, and a record number of exhibitors in a sold-out exhibition hall:
The Death of the Microsection
06/26/2025 | Bob Neves, Reliability Assessment Solutions, Inc.I got my start out of college grinding and polishing PCB microsections. My thumbs are a bit arthritic today because of the experience (microsection grinders know what I mean). Back then, via structures were rather large, and getting to the center in six steps of grinding and polishing was easy compared to what my team has been doing recently at the lab.
Specially Developed for Laser Plastic Welding from LPKF
06/25/2025 | LPKFLPKF introduces TherMoPro, a thermographic analysis system specifically developed for laser plastic welding that transforms thermal data into concrete actionable insights. Through automated capture, evaluation, and interpretation of surface temperature patterns immediately after welding, the system provides unprecedented process transparency that correlates with product joining quality and long-term product stability.
Fresh PCB Concepts: Assembly Challenges with Micro Components and Standard Solder Mask Practices
06/26/2025 | Team NCAB -- Column: Fresh PCB ConceptsMicro components have redefined what is possible in PCB design. With package sizes like 01005 and 0201 becoming more common in high-density layouts, designers are now expected to pack more performance into smaller spaces than ever before. While these advancements support miniaturization and functionality, they introduce new assembly challenges, particularly with traditional solder mask and legend application processes.