Battery Market Intelligence · Data asset · Last reviewed 2026-09-17
| Material | Base (Jan 2022) | Current (Sep 2026) | Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium carbonate (battery grade, China) | ~280,000 yuan/t | ~128,000–156,000 yuan/t | ~50 |
| Nickel (LME) | ~$21,000/t | ~$16,250/t | ~77 |
| Cobalt (LME / Fastmarkets) | ~$65,000/t | ~$51,600/t | ~79 |
| Lead (LME) | ~$2,250/t | ~$1,883/t | ~84 |
Base values rounded from January 2022 market data; current values from September 2026 exchange and market reporting. The index is this site's own construction — a relative price series, not a tradeable instrument.
Each material is indexed to its own January 2022 price: index = current ÷ base × 100. The base date is deliberate — January 2022 is the last month before the lithium carbonate market began its run to the November 2022 peak of ~597,000 yuan/ton, so the index reads the entire boom-and-bust cycle from a common starting line. Each material uses its own unit (yuan or dollars), which is why the comparison is relative — the index shows how far each moved from its own base, not absolute levels.
The four materials diverged by design: lithium halved because the 2022 spike was a supply-demand squeeze that new mining and processing capacity then broke (see the carbonate timeline); nickel and cobalt fell ~20% as EV chemistry shifted toward LFP, cutting demand for both; and lead moved least because its market is the mature, recycling-backed lead-acid industry rather than a new-economy boom (see lead-acid market). The index makes the pattern visible in one table: the newer the chemistry's input, the wilder its cycle.
The materials are the cost floor, and the index shows the floor is low: the single largest swing factor of the 2022–2025 period — lithium — now sits at half its base. The consequence is the price discipline already visible in the pack-price curve: cells near $108/kWh are not just scale economics, they are materials economics, and the index is the materials layer made legible.
My position: The index's lesson is one sentence: battery materials did not move together — lithium cycled, nickel and cobalt slid, lead stayed put — and any battery cost forecast that treats "materials" as one variable is already wrong before it starts.
Why: The divergence reflects the industry's structure: a squeeze-prone new input (lithium), a chemistry transition cutting demand for two others (nickel, cobalt), and a mature recycling loop damping the fourth (lead). Reading the index as one number hides that; reading it as four numbers is how the industry actually works.
My editorial view, not investment or purchasing advice.
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