Cobalt sulfate is an important raw material for cathode materials and prices will continue to rise in 2021

Cobalt sulfate, chemical formula CoSO4, is toxic. It appears as red crystal. It loses seven crystal waters when heated. After dehydration, it appears as blue powder. It is easily weathered in the air. It can decompose and emit toxic gases when exposed to high heat. It is soluble. Soluble in water, soluble in methanol, slightly soluble in ethanol. Lithium-ion battery cathode materials are an important downstream market for cobalt sulfate. Benefiting from the rapid development of China’s electric vehicles and power battery industries, China’s cobalt sulfate production and sales continue to grow. It is currently the world’s largest cobalt sulfate market.

Cobalt sulfate can be used to prepare precursors such as cobalt tetroxide, NCM hydroxide, and NCA oxide, and is used to produce cathode materials such as LCO, NCM, and NCA. It is an indispensable and important raw material for the production of lithium-ion batteries. In addition to the battery field, cobalt sulfate can also be used in electroplating, pigments, catalysts, tire adhesives, paint and ink desiccants, foam stabilizers, ceramic glaze colorants, feed additives, analytical reagents and other fields.

my country is the world’s largest producer of cobalt sulfate. The main production companies include Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd., Ganzhou Tengyuan Cobalt New Materials Co., Ltd., Jinchuan Group Co., Ltd., Nantong Xinwei Nickel and Cobalt Technology Development Co., Ltd. Jilin Jien Nickel Co., Ltd., Zhangjiagang Huayi Chemical Co., Ltd., Dalian Ruiyuan Power Co., Ltd., etc.

In addition to supplying domestic market demand, the cobalt sulfate produced in my country is also exported to overseas markets in large quantities. From 2017 to 2019, my country’s cobalt sulfate export volume continued to rise rapidly. In 2019, the export volume was close to 14,000 tons. Japan was the largest exporter, followed by South Korea. The combined export volume of the two accounted for about 88%.

According to the “Cobalt Sulfate Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report 2021-2025” released by the Industrial Research Center, in 2020 Since the second half of the year, as the COVID-19 epidemic has been well controlled, my country’s electric vehicle sales have resumed growth, and the demand for power batteries has increased accordingly, driving up the demand for cobalt sulfate and causing prices to continue to soar. In mid-November 2021, the lowest quotation of cobalt sulfate in my country was 91,000 yuan/ton, and the highest quotation was 98,000 yuan/ton. It continues to run strongly, and there is still room for growth in the short term.

The cobalt sulfate market is booming, but global cobalt resource reserves are limited. Based on the current development needs of the lithium-ion battery industry, cobalt resources are expected to be exhausted within 10 years. Therefore, the importance of recycling and reusing cobalt resources has become increasingly important. The number of electric vehicles in my country continues to increase, and it is expected that the scrapped volume of power batteries will reach more than 750,000 tons by 2025. Scrapped power batteries need to be treated harmlessly, and the gold, silver, nickel, cobalt and other resources in them can be recycled and reused. In the future, the development of enterprises that build power battery recycling cobalt sulfate production lines will benefit.

Industry analysts said that cobalt sulfate is indispensable in the production of lithium-ion batteries and is an important raw material for the preparation of cathode materials. A major producer of electric vehicles and power batteries, demand for cobalt sulfate is strong. my country has small cobalt resource reserves and its demand mainly relies on imports. Since 2019, global cobalt production has continued to decline. Since the second half of 2020, my country’s demand for power batteries has been strong, so the price of cobalt sulfate has continued to rise. Due to the scarcity of cobalt resources, companies with power battery recycling cobalt sulfate production lines have greater development potential in the future.