The wave of price increases in the lithium battery industry continues to spread. Following rises in the costs of raw materials such as lithium carbonate and lithium hexafluorophosphate, separators have now become a new focus of price adjustments. In early December, a leading domestic separator manufacturer issued a price adjustment notice, citing increased upstream material costs and shifts in market supply and demand as reasons for significant cost pressures. The company announced a 30% price increase for wet-process separator products. Another major separator producer also indicated that it would negotiate with downstream customers to adjust prices for products that had experienced substantial earlier reductions, while committing to ensure stable supply of high-quality separators.

Industry data from December 15 shows rising prices across mainstream separator products. The average price for wet-process base film (7μm) stood at ¥0.8 per square meter, while wet-process base film (5μm) averaged ¥1.37 per square meter. Wet-process coated film (5μm+2μm) averaged ¥1.68 per square meter. For dry-process base film (12μm) and coated film (12μm+4μm), average prices were ¥0.45 and ¥0.8 per square meter, respectively.

Strong demand from sectors such as energy storage this year has kept capacity utilization in the separator industry at relatively high levels. Improved supply-demand dynamics have enabled companies to optimize customer portfolios and enhance profit margins. Analysts suggest that this round of price increases may help reverse the widespread losses caused by earlier price wars, steering the industry toward reasonable profitability.

Concurrently, a new wave of mergers and acquisitions is underway in the wet-process separator segment. Leading companies are consolidating resources and optimizing production capacity, thereby accelerating market concentration. Smaller manufacturers face increasing pressure to either exit the market or be acquired. This adjustment is expected to reinforce a “stronger-get-stronger” pattern, further reshaping the competitive landscape.