Price Up ¥21,500/Tonne in a Month! A Quick Look at the Production Capacity of the Global Top 10 Lithium Hexafluorophosph

Lithium Hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) Market Update: Price Surge, Supply-Demand Dynamics, and a Capacity Overview of the Global Top 10 Shippers

1. Market Dynamics and the V-Shaped Price Reversal

According to EVTank, on the demand side, the energy storage and EV power battery sectors continued to exert strong pull throughout 2025, with downstream demand for LiPF6 exploding in the second half of the year. On the supply side, after two years of depressed prices, a large number of small and medium-sized producers were forced out of the market. Coupled with the long capacity expansion cycle for LiPF6 and barriers such as environmental protection and hazardous chemical production qualifications, industry supply tightened significantly. This supply-demand mismatch in the second half of 2025 triggered a V-shaped price reversal. By year-end, prices had broken through the 170,000 yuan/tonne mark, with the maximum intra-year surge approaching 200%.

2. 2026: Correction Followed by an Off-Season Rebound

Entering 2026, as operating rates at leading producers improved, the LiPF6 market underwent a deep correction, falling below the 100,000 yuan/tonne threshold by the end of April. However, starting in May, market sentiment shifted abruptly. Prices bucked the trend and rebounded during the traditional off-season, embarking on a new upward trajectory.

3. Latest Price Data

• According to Tonghuashun iFind, on May 25, the spot price of LiPF6 was reported at 120,000 yuan/tonne, flat from the previous day. Over the past week, the price has accumulated an increase of 3,500 yuan/tonne, or 3%. Over the past month, it has surged by 21,500 yuan/tonne, a jump of 21.83%.

• Data from SMM shows that the average spot price of LiPF6 on May 25 was approximately 115,000 yuan/tonne, up 16,000 yuan/tonne (over 16%) from the 99,000 yuan/tonne recorded on May 6, the first working day after the Labor Day holiday.

Battery Network noted that on May 25, battery-grade lithium carbonate prices also stopped falling and rebounded, rising by more than 5,000 yuan/tonne in a single day.

4. Driving Factors Behind the Price Rally

SMM analysis attributes the strong performance of LiPF6 to several factors. On one hand, prices of upstream raw materials such as anhydrous hydrogen fluoride and lithium carbonate had been rising steadily, pushing up production costs. On the other hand, the industry had previously been in a destocking cycle, and the market supply-demand balance was gradually tightening. These multiple bullish factors combined to drive a sharp rally in LiPF6 prices.

5. Leading Producers and Capacity Overview (Global Top 10)

EVTank data shows that in 2025, the top LiPF6 shippers globally were primarily Tinci Materials (002709), Do-Fluoride Chemicals (002407), and Tianji Holdings (002759), whose combined market share reached 59.5%. The entry threshold for the global Top 10 rose from 2,000 tonnes in 2024 to 5,000 tonnes in 2025, and all Top 10 companies were Chinese.

A summary of key players’ capacity and updates, as compiled by Battery Network:

• Tinci Materials: Annual LiPF6 capacity of approximately 110,000 tonnes (solid equivalent). The previously planned 35,000-tonne expansion is progressing on schedule and is expected to come online in the second half of 2026.

• Do-Fluoride Chemicals: Existing capacity of about 65,000 tonnes/year. Shipments in 2025 were around 50,000 tonnes, with a target of approximately 60,000 tonnes for 2026.

• Tianji Holdings: Built capacity of 37,000 tonnes/year, with an additional 15,000 tonnes/year under construction and slated for commissioning in Q4 2026. In 2025, LiPF6 output reached 39,600 tonnes (up 57.96% YoY) and sales volume hit 40,100 tonnes (up 55.84% YoY).

• Jiangxi Shilei (invested by Capchem (300037)): The LiPF6 production line technical upgrade is largely complete, with nominal capacity of 36,000 tonnes. Since the post-Spring Festival ramp-up, shipments have been steadily increasing month by month.

• Yongtai Technology (002326): Plans a 2026 upgrade and expansion at the Yongtai Gaoxin facility, increasing existing capacity from 18,000 tonnes/year to 50,000 tonnes/year, a net addition of 32,000 tonnes/year.

• Shida Shenghua (603026): Planned liquid LiPF6 capacity is 100,000 tonnes/year. The utilization rate of its liquid LiPF6 plant has been rising alongside its own electrolyte demand, though overall output remains relatively small.

• Hongyuan Pharmaceutical (301246): Current LiPF6 capacity stands at 10,000 tonnes/year. A capacity upgrade initiated in 2025 will raise total capacity to 18,000 tonnes/year upon completion in 2026. In 2025, the company shipped 10,564.38 tonnes of LiPF6.

• Jiujiujiu Technology: Actual LiPF6 capacity has exceeded 6,400 tonnes/year. In January 2026, the company obtained planning approval for a 35,000-tonne LiPF6 project in Rudong County, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, with construction about to begin.

• Zhonglan Hongyuan (JV between Sinochem Lantian and Hongyuan Pharmaceutical): Existing annual capacity of 4,000 tonnes, with a planned expansion to 6,000 tonnes.

• Fujian Longde: Total planned capacity of 13,000 tonnes/year. Phase I and II (3,000 tonnes/year) are already operational, and Phase III (10,000 tonnes/year) has entered production, with overall capacity gradually ramping up.

EVTank forecasts that global LiPF6 shipments will reach 687,000 tonnes by 2030.

6. Market Outlook

• Do-Fluoride Chemicals believes that the near-term price trend of LiPF6 hinges crucially on the dynamic supply-demand balance. If downstream passenger car battery installations grow steadily and energy storage demand experiences explosive growth, it will drive overall demand up across the lithium battery industry chain.

• Capchem also noted that the LiPF6 industry is currently experiencing strong production and sales, fueled by robust battery and energy storage demand. Taking into account raw material costs (lithium carbonate, hydrofluoric acid), logistics and energy consumption, mining activity, and downstream hydrochloric acid transportation costs, prices are expected to remain rational and operate in a stable manner, with a low probability of significant short-term decline. Although prices have pulled back from last year’s peak, the industry is expected to maintain a high-prosperity trend from the second half of this year into next year.

• Guojin Securities holds that LiPF6 and electrolyte are currently in a cyclical upswing. After the sharp reversal in Q4 2025, LiPF6 prices eased during the Q1 2026 off-season. Considering the industry’s supply-demand dynamics and rising operating rate trends, Guojin Securities estimates that the annual average price center in 2026 will be solidly supported in the range of 100,000 to 150,000 yuan/tonne.