SMM on China BESS: Can Growth Hold Up as Costs Rise?

SMM analyst Lana Li joins Matt Fernley on Rock Stock Channel to discuss the outlook for China’s BESS and energy storage market, including battery pricing, lithium cost pass-through, project IRRs, policy changes and the shift from mandatory storage to market-based returns. We also cover China’s BESS slowdown, global demand growth, export pressures, inventory, sodium-ion batteries and SMM’s outlook for roughly 30% global BESS demand CAGR through 2030. Read Interview Transcript: https://link.rkequity.com/smm-transcript Follow Participants: X (SMM) - https://x.com/CnMetals X (Matt) - https://x.com/matt\_fernley \_\__ Chapters (00:00) Introductions (02:27) China Resets BESS Pricing Discipline (07:01) China Shifts To Economics-Driven Storage (12:19) Lithium Surge Barely Reaches BESS Prices (15:23) Why China BESS Installations Slowed (20:22) Residential Inventories Mask Tight Cell Supply (23:03) SMM's BESS Forecasting Methodology (24:11) Global BESS Growth Diversifies Beyond China (26:01) Higher Costs Threaten BESS Growth Forecasts (27:51) Sodium-Ion Remains Too Expensive (30:18) Sustainable Returns Become The Real Constraint Links Sign up for the Lithium-Ion Bull newsletter / Matt’s blogs: https://rkequity.com/ Questions: [rockstockchannel@rkequity.com](mailto:rockstockchannel@rkequity.com) Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rockstockchannel Podcast   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lithium-ion-rocks/id1457969172 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0KiMIZOPaDg8ENfPJMSINq Follow us on X (Twitter): Howard: https://x.com/LithiumIonBull Matt: https://x.com/matt\_fernley Rodney: https://x.com/RodneyHooper13 Ben: https://x.com/benjihammond \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\__ DISCLAIMER NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. Howard, Matt, and Rodney are not financial advisors or broker-dealers. This video is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment or financial advice. Please conduct your own independent research and read the disclaimer at the end of the video or on RK Equity’s website: https://www.rkequity.com Intro and outro audio credit: Jamie Klein