Northvolt申请破产保护，LG获8GWh储能大单

Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Positive" investment rating for the new energy vehicle industry in China [1]. Core Insights - The demand for new energy vehicles continues to grow, with sales reaching 8.32 million units in the first nine months of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 33%. The installed capacity of power batteries reached 346.6 GWh, up 36% year-on-year. The report anticipates strong growth momentum for lithium battery demand through 2025 [3][18]. - The overall profitability trend is stabilizing and slightly improving, with upstream lithium resources and downstream batteries showing significant recovery. However, midstream materials are still affected by lithium carbonate impairment, particularly in ternary materials [3][18]. - The lithium battery industry has entered a phase of continuous improvement in profitability since the first quarter of 2024, following a period of decline. The report notes that many companies within the industry still have a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio below 20 times for 2025, indicating investment value [3][19]. Summary by Sections Industry News - Northvolt has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure its debts while continuing operations. The company aims to secure new funding during this period [22][23]. - LG Energy Solution has signed a contract to provide up to 8 GWh of energy storage systems (ESS) to Terra-Gen, which could power over 800,000 households. The estimated value of this contract is approximately $1.4 billion [26][29]. Price Tracking of Battery-Related Products - Lithium carbonate is priced at 79,000 CNY per ton, showing a 0.89% increase from the previous week, while lithium hydroxide is at 68,000 CNY per ton, up 1.05% [5][58]. - The price of nickel electrolytic is 129,000 CNY per ton, reflecting a 3.29% increase, while cobalt products remain stable [5][58]. Important Announcements - Enjie Co., Ltd. has signed a global strategic cooperation framework agreement with Yiwei Lithium Energy, aiming to procure no less than 3 billion square meters of battery separators from 2025 to 2031 [50][51].