Lithium Battery Copper Foil Prices Surge: Cost Support and Demand Explosion Drive Together

Price Trends: Multiple Factors Driving a Broad Increase in Lithium Battery Copper Foil Prices

According to comprehensive data from Yangtze River, the lithium battery copper foil market rose on August 13:

• 4.5μm ultra-thin copper foil: quoted at 107,500-108,500 yuan/ton, with an average price of 108,000 yuan/ton, increasing by 500 yuan/ton in a single day;

• 6μm mainstream copper foil: quoted at 96,550-98,050 yuan/ton, with an average price of 97,300 yuan/ton, increasing by 350 yuan/ton in a single day;

• 8μm conventional copper foil: quoted at 95,300-97,300 yuan/ton, with an average price of 96,300 yuan/ton, increasing by 350 yuan/ton in a single day.

This increase is mainly driven by three factors:

• Enhanced cost support: The expectation of a Federal Reserve rate cut has led to a weaker dollar. Since copper prices are denominated in dollars, this has directly increased the cost of copper foil raw materials;

• Explosive demand growth: There has been a surge in demand for ultra-thin, high-performance copper foil in the fields of new energy vehicles (especially high energy density models) and energy storage;

• Technical barriers increasing premiums: The 4.5μm copper foil is difficult to process and has a low yield, making market supply tight and price elasticity significantly higher than traditional specifications.

Structural Opportunities Brought by Rising Prices

Upstream Industry Chain: Shared dividends between resource and processing sectors

• Copper mining enterprises: Rising copper prices directly benefit leading companies with copper resources, such as Freeport-McMoRan and Jiangxi Copper, expanding their profit margins;

• Copper foil processing enterprises: Due to high technical barriers in ultra-thin copper foil, companies like Jiayuan Technology and Nord Co., Ltd., which have mass production capabilities in 4.5μm copper foil, can achieve premiums through product upgrades;

• Equipment suppliers: The demand for high-end equipment like electrolytic copper foil production machines and cathode rolls is growing, increasing orders for equipment suppliers such as Dawson Technology.

Midstream Battery Companies: Balancing technological innovation and cost control

• Pressure to upgrade technology: To cope with rising copper foil prices, battery manufacturers (e.g., CATL, BYD) will accelerate the development of technologies such as "copper foil thinning + composite current collectors" (e.g., PET copper foil), pushing for material innovation;

• Supply chain integration opportunities: Leading battery companies might secure supplies by taking stakes in copper foil manufacturers or signing long-term agreements, such as EVE Energy's recent strategic cooperation with copper foil suppliers;

• Cost transfer capability: Companies with market influence (e.g., LG Energy Solutions) could raise battery product prices to pass increased costs downstream, maintaining their profit margins.

Downstream Application Sectors: Dual drivers of new energy vehicles and energy storage

• New energy vehicle market: High energy density models (e.g., Tesla's 4680 battery) have a strong demand for ultra-thin copper foil, with global demand for new energy vehicle copper foil expected to reach 450,000 tons by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of over 20%;

• Energy storage sector: Grid-level energy storage projects require more cost-effective copper foil, with 8μm copper foil accounting for over 60% in lithium iron phosphate batteries due to cost advantages;

• Emerging application scenarios: The demand for lightweight batteries in low-altitude economy (eVTOL), humanoid robots, and other fields creates new markets for ultra-thin copper foil.

Investment and Policy: Resonance of capital investment and industrial upgrading

• Primary market: VC/PE institutions are rapidly investing in niche segments such as composite current collectors (e.g., Chongqing Jinmei) and copper foil recycling (e.g., Jicheng New Energy);

• Secondary market: Valuation of the lithium battery copper foil sector is recovering, with individual stocks like Jiayuan Technology (688388.SH) and Nord Co., Ltd. (600110.SH) attracting capital attention;

• Policy dividends: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s “Guidelines for the Demonstration of First Batch of Key New Materials” includes ultra-thin copper foil, with local subsidies (e.g., Jiangxi copper foil industrial cluster) further reducing the expansion costs for companies.

Risks and Challenges: Three Key Variables to Watch

• Risk of technological substitution: If the mass production progress of composite current collectors (e.g., Sanfu New Technology's one-step method) exceeds expectations, it could squeeze the market share of traditional copper foil;

• Overcapacity risk: By 2025, planned domestic copper foil capacity will exceed 1.5 million tons, far surpassing the actual demand of about 1.2 million tons, possibly accelerating industry reshuffling;

• Macroeconomic liquidity changes: If the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting pace is slower than expected or trade frictions resume after the end of the U.S.-China tariff truce, copper and copper foil prices may be suppressed.

Market Outlook: Ultra-thin and High-End Products Set the Long-term Direction

According to Yangtze River Nonferrous Metals Network, lithium battery copper foil prices will remain high and fluctuating in the short term, but the long-term trend depends on two points:

• Technological breakthroughs: Whether the yield rate of 4.5μm copper foil can increase from the current 70% to over 85%, directly affecting the potential for cost reduction;

• Demand structure: Whether the increased demand for 8μm copper foil in the energy storage sector can offset the impact of specification changes due to ultra-thin requirements in the new energy vehicle field.

Investors are advised to focus on copper foil companies with "ultra-thin technology reserves + strong customer ties + capacity flexibility" and innovative companies making substantial progress in the composite current collector field.