Ni-MH battery industry is facing the pressure of transformation

Liu Yanlong, secretary-general of the China Chemicals and Physics Power Industry Association, told the China Securities Journal on the 21st that it is expected that the domestic nickel-metal hydride battery industry will experience relatively large pressure in 2012. If raw material prices maintain current prices, there may be a slight increase in the industry if raw material prices Once again climbing, the pressure of product substitution will increase, and nickel-metal hydride battery companies will face further transformation pressure.

According to reports, in 2011, the prices of raw materials for nickel-metal hydride batteries, including nickel, rare earth, and alloy powders, have been rising, and the production cost of nickel-metal hydride batteries has increased by nearly 11%. At the same time, nickel prices have risen, exchange rates, inflation, and labor costs have increased. As a result, most of the domestic nickel-metal hydride battery companies suffered losses in 2011. It is expected that the production of small nickel-metal hydride batteries will decline by more than 10% in 2011, and HEV (hybrid units) will increase production of large nickel-metal hydride batteries by 10%. The domestic nickel-metal hydride battery industry is dominated by small-scale consumer nickel-metal hydride batteries. HEV batteries are mainly produced by Japanese companies and supplied to Japanese automakers.

Liu Yanlong said that large-scale nickel-metal hydride batteries still have room for development before large-scale lithium-electric vehicles come into being. The nickel-metal hydride battery market in Japan is expected to maintain a growth rate of 10%-20% in the next few years, among which, the market for small nickel-metal hydride batteries will shrink, and the scale of the large-scale nickel-metal hydride battery market is expected to gradually increase from 212 million in 2012 to 2015. The year's 315 million only. For domestic companies, they face similar pressures for transformation.

This trend is reflected in listed companies. Keliyuan (600478) had a loss of 14.5871 million yuan in the July-September period, compared with 104.829 million yuan in the same period of last year. The company's operating cost in the quarter increased by 71.3%. Currently, Keli is increasing its investment in HEV products. In the first half of 2011, Acquired Shonan Corun Energy Co., Ltd., which manufactures Ni-MH hybrid batteries for automobiles.