In the global wave of renewable energy, lithium batteries have ushered in rapid development as a core energy solution. In the production process of lithium batteries, lithium electric equipment is an indispensable foundation, which intuitively affects the production efficiency and product quality of lithium batteries. In 2023, China's lithium equipment market experienced unprecedented challenges and the overall industry scale declined. However, with the promotion of policies and the continuous progress of technology, the future of the industry is still full of opportunities.

I. Composition and development background of the lithium equipment industry chain

The lithium-electric equipment industry chain is a complex and huge system covering multiple links from upstream raw materials to downstream applications. Specifically, lithium-electric equipment can be divided into front-stage equipment, middle-stage equipment and back-stage equipment.

Front equipment: mainly including mixer, coating machine, roller press and slicing machine. Among them, the importance of the coating machine is particularly prominent, with its value accounting for nearly 75%.

Mid-stage equipment: including winding machines, stacking machines and liquid injection machines, etc. The value of winding machines accounts for 70% of such equipment.

Later equipment: It is mainly responsible for the assembly and testing of lithium batteries, including chemical and disassembly equipment, which accounts for about 70% of the known data.

In 2023, China's lithium equipment market will be 90 billion yuan, which is expected to fall to 75 billion yuan in 2024 due to the impact of the "total decline in volume and price".

II. Analysis of market drivers

Behind the development of the lithium equipment industry, policy support, market demand and technological progress are the three major drivers.

1. Continuous increase in policy support

In promoting the development of the renewable energy industry, the Chinese government has actively introduced policies to support the production of lithium electricity equipment. In particular, the emphasis on solid-state batteries will become a new growth point for lithium equipment manufacturers in the future. With the rapid development of solid-state battery technology, the localization rate of lithium-electric equipment is also steadily increasing, reaching more than 90%.

2. Changes in market demand

Changes in consumption and power lithium battery shipments directly affect the market demand for lithium battery equipment. According to a report released by the China Business Industry Research Institute, China's consumer lithium battery shipments in 2023 were 49GWh, an increase of only 2.08% year-on-year. However, in terms of power lithium batteries, shipments reached 630GWh, an increase of 31% year-on-year, and are expected to further exceed 800GWh in 2024. Such a growth curve provides a strong impetus for the demand for lithium-electric equipment.

3. Technological progress promotes localization

With technological innovation, lithium-electric equipment enterprises continue to increase their investment in research and development, especially at the level of automation and process refinement. Domestic equipment has shown signs of catching up with the international advanced level. The equipment of the front, middle and rear processes has been basically localized, especially the liquid injection machine and coating machine, whose market size is expected to reach 8.3 billion yuan and 17.3 billion yuan respectively, and will naturally occupy a place in the market.

III. Market outlook and investment opportunities in 2024

Looking to the future, according to the analysis of industry trends, the following aspects are particularly critical.

1. As market demand grows further, lithium equipment manufacturers will usher in new opportunities

The demand for power and energy storage lithium batteries will rise significantly in the next few years, which will directly drive the expansion of the lithium equipment market. Especially with the rapid development of the wind power and photovoltaic industries, the future scale of the energy storage battery is expected to continue to expand, reaching 257GWh in 2024.

2. Investment hotspots

Solid-state batteries: With the maturity of technology, the solid-state battery trading will usher in unprecedented growth, and the demand for related equipment will also rise.

Intelligent manufacturing: With the spread of automation and intelligence, the manufacturing of lithium-electric equipment will transform towards high-tech and intelligent. Investing in the manufacturing of intelligent lithium electric equipment will be an important investment opportunity.

Conclusions and appeals

Although the lithium equipment industry has experienced fluctuations in 2023, the industry's prospects are still good, supported by policies and driven by market demand. The continued growth of the lithium battery industry will bring considerable opportunities to lithium equipment manufacturers. Therefore, relevant enterprises should seize this opportunity of transformation and upgrading, increase investment in research and development, and promote the combination of intelligent manufacturing and lithium technology.

Against the backdrop of the global transition to green renewable energy, China's lithium equipment industry is bound to usher in a new glory. In this era full of opportunities, we expect every relevant enterprise to find its own position in this transformation, seize the market and create more value.

Ultimately, exploration and practice are the driving force behind the lithium equipment industry. How to seize opportunities in a changing business environment is a common challenge for all practitioners. Who will be the first to break through in the future? Let's wait and see!