Global High-Nickel Cathode Materials Research Report 2025 (Status and Outlook)

 

Report Overview:

High-nickel cathode materials are key materials for lithium-ion batteries, particularly in the power battery sector. They refer to ternary cathode materials (NCM/NCA) where the molar ratio of nickel (Ni) among the metal elements is ≥60%, with current focus on systems where nickel content is ≥80% (e.g., NCM811, NCA, NCM9-series). The primary method to enhance battery energy density is by increasing the nickel (Ni) content.

Table: Key Characteristics Comparison of High-Nickel Ternary Materials vs. Other Mainstream Cathode Materials

Characteristic Dimension	High/Ultra-High Nickel Ternary​	Mid/Low Nickel Ternary​	Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP)​	Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO)​	Lithium Manganese Oxide (LMO)​
Core Definition​	Ternary material with Ni content ≥80%	Ternary material with Ni content ≤60%	Polyanionic material with olivine structure	Layered oxide material	Spinel structure material
Energy Density​	Very High​ (>220 mAh/g), significant range advantage	High​ (160-200 mAh/g)	Relatively Low​ (~170 mAh/g), but improving through tech iteration	High, but limited improvement space	Low​
Safety​	Relatively poor thermal stability, high demands on BMS	Safer than high-nickel materials	Optimal, high decomposition temperature, excellent thermal stability	Poor, structurally unstable at high temps	Prone to lattice distortion at high temps, poor cycle performance
Cycle Life​	Relatively high, but requires improvement via tech like single-crystal	Good cycle performance	Excellent​ (typically >2000 cycles)	Poor	Poor
Cost​	High raw material cost, but low-cobalt strategy aids cost reduction	Lower cost than high-nickel materials	Optimal, abundant and cheap raw materials	High, heavily reliant on expensive cobalt	Low​
Low-Temp Performance​	Better than LFP	Better than LFP	Poor, significant capacity fade in low-temperature environments	-	-
Main Application Scenarios​	High-end EVs, eVTOLs, Embodied AI Robots	Mid-to-high-end EVs	Mainstream EVs, Energy Storage Systems, Low-speed EVs	3C Consumer Electronics (phones, laptops)	Small power, New Energy Specialty Vehicles, Cost-sensitive low-end markets

 

Overview of the High-Nickel Cathode Materials Market: Steady Progress Toward Core High-End Applications

According to Bosson Research, the global shipment volume of high-nickel cathode materials reached 467,000 tons in 2024, representing a 5.7% year-on-year increase and accounting for 40.06% of total ternary cathode material shipments. Among this, China shipped 357,000 tons of high-nickel ternary materials, up 4.9% year-on-year. The once highly anticipated trend of “high-nickelization” has slowed. This is mainly because mid-nickel high-voltage technology routes, with their superior cost-effectiveness and better safety performance, have experienced rapid growth.

 

In 2025, the market for high-nickel (NCM811 and above) and ultra-high-nickel (NCM9-series) ternary cathode materials has entered a more mature stage after earlier phases of capacity expansion and downstream validation cycles. The global market is experiencing steady growth, driven by the trend toward high-end electrification and emerging applications, while the Chinese market is entering an adjustment phase amid technological catch-up, capacity release, and intensified competition.

Competitive Landscape

Chinese Manufacturers Lead Globally, Localization Accelerates Overseas:​ Leading Chinese companies (e.g., Ronbay Technology, Hunan Changyuan Lico, Tianjin Bamo Technology) have established global leading advantages in capacity, technology, and cost. Simultaneously, to be closer to customers and respond to trade policies, Chinese material suppliers are accelerating plant construction in Europe and America (e.g., Morocco, Finland, USA), while overseas players like Korea's ECOPRO BM and Belgium's Umicore are also actively expanding local capacity. The supply chain exhibits characteristics of both "globalization" and "regionalization".

Deep Upstream Integration by Automakers and Battery Cell Producers:​ To ensure supply chain security, major automakers and battery giants (e.g., Tesla, LG Energy Solution, Panasonic) are deeply integrating with upstream cathode material and even precursor suppliers (e.g., CNGR Advanced Material, GEM Co., Ltd.) through long-term contracts, joint ventures, etc., making integrated cooperation models the norm.

Global High-Nickel Cathode Material Core Manufacturers (2025)

Manufacturer	Country/Region	Market Positioning & Latest Developments
Ronbay Technology​	China	Leader in high-nickel ternary, leading in ultra-high-nickel technology. Leading global production scale, deeply partners with domestic battery giants like CATL. Pioneering in Ni90+ ultra-high-nickel, sodium-ion cathode fields, and accelerating overseas expansion (e.g., South Korea, Finland bases) to serve international customers.
Tianjin B&M Sciencce and Technology	China	A subsidiary of Huayou Cobalt, specializing in lithium-ion battery cathode materials. Its product portfolio covers various mid-to-high nickel models. The company has an annual production capacity of 106,000 tons of cathode materials and is an important supplier to both domestic and international high-end battery customers.
BASF Shanshan​	China-Germany JV	Strong alliance, global layout. Combines BASF's R&D strength and patent portfolio with Shanshan's production capacity and cost advantages. A key player in the global market, especially in the European local power battery supply chain.
Xiamen Tungsten​	China	Dual leader in ternary and LCO, integrated advantages. Its subsidiary XTC New Energy Materials is a major cathode material supplier, with deep in high-nickel ternary and leading in the consumer electronics LCO market, boasting a balanced business structure.
BTR New Material​	China	Anode leader, rising star in cathodes. Leveraging its customer base and R&D strength in anode materials, its cathode business (Tianjin BTR) is developing rapidly, possessing cost and quality competitiveness especially in high-nickel products.
LG Chem​	South Korea	Vertically integrated giant, both self-supplying and external sales. Provides stable and reliable high-nickel material supply for its affiliate LG Energy Solution, core material support for the Korean battery group. Also actively sells externally, covering ultra-high-nickel and LMFP technology routes.
EcoPro BM​	South Korea	High-nickel ternary specialist, deeply tied to Samsung SDI. A leading global company in high-nickel NCA/NCM materials, its development is closely linked to Samsung SDI's battery business expansion, with high customer concentration.
POSCO Chemical​	South Korea	Under the steel giant, strong resource integration capability. Leveraging the resources and capital of POSCO Holdings, actively expanding cathode material capacity, aiming to become a global comprehensive battery material platform company.
Umicore​	Belgium	European materials giant, leader in sustainability. Possesses profound technical heritage and a broad customer base, emphasizing closed-loop recycling and sustainable development. A key link in the European local battery supply chain.
Sumitomo Metal Mining​	Japan	Master of the NCA technology route, deeply engaged in solid-state batteries. The global leader and core supplier of NCA cathode materials (mainly supplying the Panasonic-Tesla system). Currently closely collaborating with Japanese automakers like Toyota to develop advanced cathode materials for all-solid-state batteries.

 

Technology Development Trends

9-series materials entering small-batch applications:
Building on the stage of “lab and pilot-scale trials” in 2022, by 2025 ultra-high-nickel materials such as NCM 9-series and NCMA (nickel-cobalt-manganese-aluminum) have begun to be installed in certain high-end flagship vehicle models (e.g., Zeekr, NIO, Lucid). Their targeted energy density exceeds 300 Wh/kg.

Single-crystal high-nickel becoming the mainstream technology pathway:
To improve the cycle life and safety of high-nickel materials, single-crystallization technology is being widely adopted. Leading manufacturers such as Ronbay Technology, Easpring, and BASF-Shanshan have already achieved large-scale mass production of single-crystal high-nickel materials, effectively mitigating the grain-boundary cracking issues present in polycrystalline materials during long-term cycling.

Low-altitude economy:
Electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) impose extremely demanding requirements on battery energy density, power, and safety. High-nickel ternary materials remain the most mature option and are expected to become a major new source of demand growth in 2025.

Humanoid robots:
Product iterations such as Tesla’s Optimus increase the demand for high-power-density batteries, opening new long-term growth opportunities for high-nickel ternary materials.

In 2025, the high-nickel cathode material market is progressing steadily along the anticipated technology roadmap. Driven by high-end demand, the global market continues to grow healthily, while in China—after phases of capacity expansion and intense competition—the industry concentration is expected to further increase. Leading companies with core technologies, high-quality customer bases, and strong cost-control capabilities will stand out.

Looking ahead, the development of high-nickel and ultra-high-nickel materials will become closely linked with solid-state battery technologies and is regarded as a cornerstone for achieving the high-energy-density targets of next-generation solid-state batteries. Meanwhile, the maturation of the recycling industry chain will gradually highlight the economic and environmental value of these materials, adding a crucial advantage in full-lifecycle cost competitiveness.

 

Global High-Nickel Cathode Materials Market: Market Segmentation Analysis

This report includes specific segments by region (country), manufacturers, Type, and Application. Market segmentation creates subsets of a market based on product type, end-user or application, Geographic, and other factors. By understanding the market segments, the decision-maker can leverage this targeting in the product, sales, and marketing strategies. Market segments can power your product development cycles by informing how you create product offerings for different segments.

 

Key Company

LG Chem

Ronbay Technology

Tianjin B&M Sciencce and Technology

BTR New Material​

Easpring Technology

China Minmetals New Energy Materials Co., Ltd.

Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd.

BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co., Ltd.

Umicore

POSCO

EcoPro BM

Sumitomo Metal Mining

 

Market Segmentation (by Type)

NCM

NCA

NCMA

Others

 

Market Segmentation (by Application)

Power Batteries

Energy Storage Batteries

Consumer Batteries

Others

 

 

Geographic Segmentation

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

South America

Middle East and Africa

 

Key Benefits of This Market Research:

• Industry drivers, restraints, and opportunities covered in the study

• Neutral perspective on the market performance

• Recent industry trends and developments

• Competitive landscape & strategies of key players

• Potential & niche segments and regions exhibiting promising growth covered

• Historical, current, and projected market size, in terms of value

• In-depth analysis of the High-Nickel Cathode Materials Market

• Overview of the regional outlook of the High-Nickel Cathode Materials Market:

 

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• Competitive landscape which incorporates the market ranking of the major players, along with new service/product launches, partnerships, business expansions, and acquisitions in the past five years of companies profiled

• Extensive company profiles comprising of company overview, company insights, product benchmarking, and SWOT analysis for the major market players

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Chapter Outline

Chapter 1 mainly introduces the statistical scope of the report, market division standards, and market research methods.

 

Chapter 2 is an executive summary of different market segments (by region, product type, application, etc), including the market size of each market segment, future development potential, and so on. It offers a high-level view of the current state of the High-Nickel Cathode Materials Market and its likely evolution in the short to mid-term, and long term.

 

Chapter 3 makes a detailed analysis of the Market's Competitive Landscape of the market and provides the market share, capacity, output, price, latest development plan, merger, and acquisition information of the main manufacturers in the market.

 

Chapter 4 is the analysis of the whole market industrial chain, including the upstream and downstream of the industry, as well as Porter's five forces analysis.

 

Chapter 5 introduces the latest developments of the market, the driving factors and restrictive factors of the market, the challenges and risks faced by manufacturers in the industry, and the analysis of relevant policies in the industry.

 

Chapter 6 provides the analysis of various market segments according to product types, covering the market size and development potential of each market segment, to help readers find the blue ocean market in different market segments.

 

Chapter 7 provides the analysis of various market segments according to application, covering the market size and development potential of each market segment, to help readers find the blue ocean market in different downstream markets.

 

Chapter 8 provides a quantitative analysis of the market size and development potential of each region and its main countries and introduces the market development, future development prospects, market space, and capacity of each country in the world.

 

Chapter 9 details the production of products in major countries/regions and provides the production of major countries/regions.

 

Chapter 10 introduces the basic situation of the main companies in the market in detail, including product sales revenue, sales volume, price, gross profit margin, market share, product introduction, recent development, etc.

 

Chapter 11 provides a quantitative analysis of the market size and development potential of each region in the next five years.

 

Chapter 12 provides a quantitative analysis of the market size and development potential of each market segment (product type and application) in the next five years.

 

Chapter 13 is the main points and conclusions of the report.