In the first half of 2026, the added value of Guizhou's new energy and new materials industrial cluster grew by 12.7% year-on-year. Amid fierce competition characterized by nominal overcapacity in lithium iron phosphate and the elimination of low-end production capacity nationwide, Guizhou has leveraged its cluster advantage of converting local mineral resources and the technological iteration of leading companies. The strategy of "precision mineral development" has underpinned the cluster's steady growth.

Unique phosphorus resources secure a high-end market position. Lithium iron phosphate is the dominant cathode material for current mainstream electric vehicle and energy storage batteries. Despite overall overcapacity nationwide, high-end capacity remains in short supply. Projects led by the head enterprises attracted to Guizhou maintain relatively high capacity utilization rates and price competitiveness due to their technological edge. For example, Guizhou Yuneng, located in the Fuquan-Weng'an phosphorus chemical cluster, achieved full production and sales for its 150,000-tonne annual LFP project in the first half of the year, with supply unable to meet demand. On August 1st, it raised LFP prices by 2,000 RMB per tonne. According to public information, the environmental impact assessment for Guizhou Yuneng's expansion project, a 250,000-tonne annual high-compaction LFP facility, was accepted in July. Once completed, it will further expand high-end capacity. In the same month, the company announced plans to invest 24 billion RMB in a "Mining-Processing-Integration" circular project in Weng'an, covering the entire chain from phosphate rock mining to recycling, thereby further strengthening its resource advantage. "The phosphate rock reserves in the Fuquan-Weng'an area are among the largest in Asia, and the distances between all stages of the phosphorus system are very short. From the advantage of phosphate rock resources to transportation and the mutual coupling of products, we can save more than 30% in costs compared to similar enterprises," Su Guiyong, General Manager of Chengtun Energy Metal Chemistry (Guizhou) Co., Ltd., told reporters. Leveraging market potential and Guizhou's phosphorus chemical cluster advantages, Guizhou Chengtun, a producer of ternary cathode materials like nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate, has chosen to layout phosphorus-based battery cathode materials for its new project, planning dual-track development. It has signed an agreement with Fuquan city for a "Mining-Processing-Materials Integration" LFP project, and the upstream section, a 150,000-tonne iron phosphate production line, has begun trial production. Driven by leading enterprises, the "chemical fusion" among companies within the cluster is accelerating.

While the advantages of the phosphorus-based material industry continue to accumulate, manganese-based resources are also unleashing vitality through the cluster effect. A "half-hour supply circle" for manganese-based new materials is creating new possibilities. Tongren's Dalong Economic Development Zone has proven manganese ore reserves ranking among the top in the country. After years of accumulation, the 29 large-scale new material enterprises in the park have formed a "half-hour raw material supply circle." The core product of Best New Energy Materials Co., Ltd. is lithium manganate, used in digital batteries, mobile power sources, and other fields. Its output value grew by about 25% in the first half of 2026. It procures trimanganese tetroxide from Huicheng New Materials, located just one kilometer away, saving millions of yuan in annual transport costs. "The proximity within the cluster brings significant benefits in terms of technical exchange and improvement," said Lu Jie, General Manager of Guizhou Best New Energy Materials Co., Ltd. He noted that while the consumer electronics sector provides stable demand with steady annual market growth, the company plans to expand beyond consumer battery materials into power and energy storage fields, continuously improving the performance of manganese-based cathode materials and leveraging their advantages in high voltage and long cycle life. "We have found a technological breakthrough direction in the energy storage field, trying to utilize lithium manganate," he said. Meanwhile, the Dalong Economic Development Zone also hosts CNGR Advanced Material (Zhongwei New Materials), a leading global seller of ternary precursors; Kaijin, a national top producer of anode materials; and Weifang, a battery cell producer using sodium battery technology, forming a closed loop from manganese salt to precursor to anode to cell to recycling. A representative from Guizhou Weifang stated in an interview that manganese holds extremely high weight in manganese-based sodium-ion batteries, and the company chose to locate its plant in Guizhou precisely because of the local manganese-based new materials cluster's technical accumulation and shipment volume.

Battery recycling represents a new round of "resource reallocation". In April 2026, the Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Power Batteries from New Energy Vehicles, jointly issued by six ministries including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, came into effect, accelerating the elimination of "small workshops." Companies from Guizhou that have been included in the MIIT's "white list" for battery recycling and comprehensive utilization are actively expanding their capacity to seize market share. At Guizhou Hongxing Electronic Materials Co., Ltd., construction of a new capacity expansion project is nearing completion. Once finished, it will create an annual processing capacity of 27,000 tonnes of waste ternary lithium batteries and 17,000 tonnes of waste LFP batteries. The recovered metals can be directly supplied to local leading companies like Zhongwei New Materials. "We used to only recycle ternary materials, but now we cover LFP as well. The scope of processing will be broader, including battery disassembly, from the very beginning to the very end," said Chen Jianning, head of the expansion project department. He believes that with stricter regulation, companies lacking qualifications in environmental protection and safety will gradually be phased out. With unique technological advantages in the full recycling process of lithium battery materials, the company is optimistic about future market potential. With front-end production and back-end regeneration, the closure of Guizhou's lithium battery chain continues to improve. Guizhou Zhongwei Resource Recycling is the province's first enterprise with dual "white list" status for both echelon utilization and regeneration. Currently, the Guizhou base of Zhongwei New Materials operates stable production lines for preprocessing retired batteries and smelting ternary black mass, with nickel, cobalt, and manganese recovery rates exceeding 98% and lithium recovery rates ranking in the industry's first tier. This effectively improves resource self-sufficiency and reduces the carbon footprint. Sales of ternary precursors in the first half of the year increased by over 50% year-on-year. A notice from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology regarding the 2027 provincial fiscal special fund project database indicates that Guizhou will further support the expansion of battery scale, continuously consolidate the industrial advantages of phosphorus-based new energy battery materials, and encourage enterprises to make new progress in high-compaction-density phosphorus-based battery materials and energy storage battery materials, accelerating the construction of "Electric Guizhou."

It is evident that within the cluster, phosphate rock is transformed into high-performance LFP, securing a position in the high-end energy storage and electric vehicle markets; manganese ore is converted locally into battery-grade manganese salts, supporting leading enterprises in global competition. The cluster's 12.7% growth in the first half of the year validates the strategic determination of Guizhou's "precision mineral development." Through "Mining-Processing-Integration" and cluster synergy, "Electric Guizhou," in partnership with industry-leading chain masters, is building a "moat" with resources and technology. This effectively buffers against industry cyclical fluctuations, ensuring stable and long-term progress by transforming resource advantages into industrial success.