InfoLink's 314 Ah LFP ESS cell assessment held at RMB 0.360/Wh on August 5, flat after falling 2.7% the prior week. SMM's Chinese-language 314 Ah page (August 7) showed RMB 0.366/Wh, also flat. It did not corroborate InfoLink's July 29 drop. Selective Q4 concessions of ~RMB 0.010/Wh persisted (InfoLink, July 29), but these are relationship-specific and below published averages.

The instrument divergence matters more here than the level. SMM's English page quoted $47.9/kWh for 314 Ah on August 7; its own Chinese page quoted RMB 0.366/Wh, approximately $53.9/kWh at July 29 PBOC parity. InfoLink converts to $53.0/kWh. The within-SMM gap ($6/kWh) has no public reconciliation. VAT treatment (13% shifts $47.9 to ~$54.1) is the likeliest explanation but remains unconfirmed. Know which basis your contract references before pulling either number.

InfoLink's 314 Ah LFP ESS cell assessment held at RMB 0.360/Wh on August 5, flat after falling 2.7% the prior week. SMM's Chinese-language 314 Ah page (August 7) showed RMB 0.366/Wh, also flat. It did not corroborate InfoLink's July 29 drop. Selective Q4 concessions of ~RMB 0.010/Wh persisted (InfoLink, July 29), but these are relationship-specific and below published averages.

The instrument divergence matters more here than the level. SMM's English page quoted $47.9/kWh for 314 Ah on August 7; its own Chinese page quoted RMB 0.366/Wh, approximately $53.9/kWh at July 29 PBOC parity. InfoLink converts to $53.0/kWh. The within-SMM gap ($6/kWh) has no public reconciliation. VAT treatment (13% shifts $47.9 to ~$54.1) is the likeliest explanation but remains unconfirmed. Know which basis your contract references before pulling either number.

InfoLink 314 Ah, Aug 5: RMB 0.360/Wh (~$53.0/kWh). Flat WoW. Prior week: -2.7%.

SMM 314 Ah English, Aug 7: $47.9/kWh (-$0.10).

SMM 314 Ah Chinese, Aug 7: RMB 0.366/Wh (~$53.9/kWh).

Within-SMM gap: ~$6/kWh on the same product label, no public reconciliation.

Conversion basis: PBOC Jul 29 central parity, RMB 6.7899/$.

InfoLink method: After-tax transactions from ~20 leading manufacturers.

SMM method: Spot orders of 100-500 MWh. Excludes related-party transfers, large frameworks, rebates, warranty deductions.

Q4 concessions: ~RMB 0.010/Wh below published average, major or long-term customers only (InfoLink, Jul 29).

Lithium carbonate: InfoLink Aug 5 at RMB 140,000/MT (-2.8% WoW). SMM Aug 7 at RMB 142,750/MT (+1,250). Cells did not follow lithium lower.

LFP ESS cells at RMB 0.360/Wh, flat, while lithium carbonate fell another 2.8% to RMB 140,000/MT. Producers are absorbing the input cost decline rather than competing it away. H1 profit alerts from Gotion, Great Power, and Farasis resolve the Tier-2 field into four distinguishable margin positions.

The model set out in Issues #3 and #7 needs revision. What binds cell pricing is migrating from nameplate overcapacity toward format-specific qualification gates and a three-event policy sequence running September through January that reworks export economics quarter by quarter.

LFP ESS cells at RMB 0.360/Wh, flat, while lithium carbonate fell another 2.8% to RMB 140,000/MT. Producers are absorbing the input cost decline rather than competing it away. H1 profit alerts from Gotion, Great Power, and Farasis resolve the Tier-2 field into four distinguishable margin positions.

The model set out in Issues #3 and #7 needs revision. What binds cell pricing is migrating from nameplate overcapacity toward format-specific qualification gates and a three-event policy sequence running September through January that reworks export economics quarter by quarter.

Chinese state-owned utility tenders in early-to-mid 2026 are splitting ESS cell procurement into format-separated lots, 314 Ah and 500 Ah+, with relaxed qualification standards for the larger format. Across NARI, Huaneng, and CEEC procurements totalling over 15 GWh, buyers are specifying 500 Ah+ cells faster than most producers can deliver them at stable yield, and CATL has publicly flagged manufacturing risk at larger formats. Meanwhile 314 Ah supply may be thinning as producers convert lines ahead of the demand. Tender evidence, disclosed conversion economics, and producer filings trace the gap between where buyer specifications are heading and where the supply base actually stands.

Chinese state-owned utility tenders in early-to-mid 2026 are splitting ESS cell procurement into format-separated lots, 314 Ah and 500 Ah+, with relaxed qualification standards for the larger format. Across NARI, Huaneng, and CEEC procurements totalling over 15 GWh, buyers are specifying 500 Ah+ cells faster than most producers can deliver them at stable yield, and CATL has publicly flagged manufacturing risk at larger formats. Meanwhile 314 Ah supply may be thinning as producers convert lines ahead of the demand. Tender evidence, disclosed conversion economics, and producer filings trace the gap between where buyer specifications are heading and where the supply base actually stands.