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“New price every day! ” Recently, the lithium hexafluorophosphate market has seen a surge in popularity. Data shows that its spot price rose from a yearly low of 49,800 yuan per ton on July 18 to nearly 120,000 yuan per ton by November 6; within just under 4 months, the increase was over 140%, making it stand out among the four main materials used in lithium-ion batteries. The price increase in this round was rapid; after reaching a bottom in mid-July, prices rose steadily from August to September, before seeing an accelerated surge after National Day. In just 5 days from October 8 to 14, the price per ton surged by 9,500 yuan, representing a increase of 16%. As of November 6, its market price range had widened to 113,800–119,800 yuan per ton, with the highest bid reaching 117,000 yuan per ton – nearly double the price from the beginning of October. The rate of increase was even more rapid than during the 2020–2022 period. An imbalance between supply and demand is the main driver of soaring prices. After a period of prolonged weakness that led to restructuring, the supply side now features a scenario where leading enterprises are operating at full capacity while smaller and medium-sized firms are absent. As of October, the total domestic production capacity was 442,900 tons per year, with an effective capacity of 389,400 tons per year; however, leading companies had a capacity utilization rate of over 90%, operating at full capacity with no unsold products. In terms of inventory, the industry’s inventory levels have dropped to 1,500 tons, which is at a low level since 2019; the actual inventory available for circulation is practically zero. On the demand side, there is a dual surge, with progress being made in both the power battery and energy storage sectors. From January to September 2025, sales of new energy vehicles in China increased by 34.55% on a year-on-year basis, driving a 42.52% rise in the installation volume of power batteries ； In the first three quarters, 430 GWh of energy storage lithium-ion batteries were shipped, representing a surge of 99.07% on a year-on-year basis; it is expected that this figure will reach 580 GWh for the whole year, making it the strongest driving force behind demand. The industry landscape continues to concentrate among the leading players, with Tianci Materials, Duofuduo, and Tianji Shares together holding 66.8% of the market share. Corporate performance has also improved simultaneously; Duofuduo’s performance in the first three quarters saw a year-on-year increase of over 4 times, while companies such as Shida Shenghua and Xinzhoubang have a high volume of orders. On November 6, Tianci Materials signed long-term supply agreements with CATL and Guoxuan High-Tech, committing to supply a total of 1.595 million tons of electrolyte over three years, which corresponds to a demand of around 200,000 tons of lithium hexafluorophosphate. Regarding the future market, the industry is generally optimistic about the short-term trend. Duofu Duo states that the supply situation will remain in a tight balance or so until 2026, with prices still having room to rise ； Analysts expect the favorable market conditions to continue at least until the second quarter of next year, with current profits per ton reaching 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. On the demand side, the adoption of emerging applications such as eVTOLs and robots, coupled with China’s installation capacity for new energy storage becoming the highest in the world, will continue to expand the demand landscape. But in the long term, the sustainability of price increases faces challenges. The penetration rate of alternatives such as lithium difluorosulfonylimide (LiFSI) is increasing, and it is expected that new production capacity will exceed 970,000 tons between 2025 and 2027. If demand growth falls short of expectations, this could lead to a reversal in the supply-demand balance. With the peak sales period for new energy vehicles approaching at the end of the year and the acceleration in the construction of energy storage projects, the tension in the lithium hexafluorophosphate market is likely to increase further, and the efforts to ensure a stable supply within the lithium battery industry chain will continue.