Lithium Battery Industry Shifts from Low-Price Involution to High-Quality Development Driven by Policy Tightening

For a long period prior to this, some enterprises in the lithium battery industry were trapped in vicious competition of low-price order grabbing, which not only pulled down the overall profitability of the industry, but also restricted the investment in technological research and development and the pace of industrial upgrading. With the continuous deepening of supply-side structural reform, "anti-involution" has become an industry consensus, and enterprises have successively shifted their focus to technological breakthroughs and full-chain efficiency optimization. The new version of the "Mineral Resources Law" officially implemented on July 1, 2025 has become an important turning point for the standardized development of the industry. This law clearly includes lithium in the list of strategic mineral resources, implements a protective mining system, and strengthens the approval and supervision of the resource end. Tighter policies have forced the industry to optimize its layout from the source. Previously, many lithium-related mining enterprises in core lithium resource producing areas such as Yichun in Jiangxi and Qinghai have been required to complete reserve verification or suspend production for rectification. Low-efficiency production capacity in the industry is accelerating its withdrawal, and leading enterprises have further consolidated their market position relying on resource endowments and compliance advantages, with the Matthew effect becoming increasingly prominent. In this context, full-chain cost reduction and efficiency improvement have become the core demand of the industry. From the standardization of lithium mining to the intelligence of battery production, the industry is realizing the transformation towards high-quality development through the optimization of the entire process.