As a new type of conductive agent, carbon nanotubes are mainly used in the field of lithium batteries, and there is a lot of room for market penetration improvement in the future. With its excellent conductivity, carbon nanotubes are mainly used as a new conductive agent in the field of lithium batteries, accounting for more than 80%, of which power batteries are the largest downstream application field. With the continuous improvement of the performance requirements of power batteries in terms of energy density, fast charging performance, cycle life, etc., driving the iterative upgrading of the upstream lithium battery material system, and with the continuous progress of technology and the gradual reduction of costs, the application of carbon nanotube conductive agents in the field of lithium batteries has gradually expanded. At present, the market penetration rate of carbon nanotube conductive agents in lithium battery conductive agents is about 20%, and there is huge room for improvement in the future.

The development of new battery technologies is driving the demand for carbon nanotube conductive agents. As a new type of anode material, silicon-based anode has significant advantages in high specific capacity and fast charging performance, which is more in line with the development trend of high energy density and fast charging demand for batteries in the end market. In recent years, driven by the growth of demand for high-performance power batteries, the shipment of silicon-based anodes has begun to increase significantly, and the market share has gradually increased. In the future, the volume of new batteries will further promote the demand growth of silicon-based anodes, including: 1) high-voltage fast-charging models are intensively listed, fast-charging batteries are gradually becoming a trend, and silicon-based anodes with high-rate performance are more suitable for fast-charging models; 2) The mass production of large cylindrical batteries is imminent, and "high nickel cathode + silicon-based anode" is the most suitable solution, which will become one of the important growth points for silicon-based anode applications; 3) As a globally recognized next-generation lithium battery, solid-state batteries have attracted much attention from the market, and their industrialization process is accelerating. Carbon nanotubes are the most suitable new conductive agents for silicon-based anodes. Therefore, in the future, the development of new batteries, especially solid-state batteries, will drive the demand for silicon-based anodes, thereby driving the growth of demand for carbon nanotube conductive agents.

The industry concentration is high, and domestic enterprises have a first-mover advantage. There are certain technical barriers in the carbon nanotube industry, especially the technical barriers of single-walled carbon nanotubes. Domestic enterprises have leading technology in the field of carbon nanotube conductive agents, with first-mover advantages, and the trend of domestic substitution of conductive agents is obvious. At present, CR5, a carbon nanotube conductive agent for lithium batteries, accounts for nearly 80% of the world's total. At present, about 80% of carbon nanotube products on the market are multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Single-walled carbon nanotubes have a more significant effect on battery performance and are more suitable for silicon-based anodes. At present, there are only a few enterprises in the world that can produce single-walled carbon nanotubes on a large scale, and high-performance and stable single-walled carbon nanotubes are in short supply, with strong market demand and high prices. Therefore, companies with the mass production capacity of single-walled carbon nanotubes will be the first to benefit from the development of new battery technologies such as solid-state batteries.

Investment suggestions: It is recommended to pay attention to: Tiannai Technology (688116), a leading global carbon nanotube company and a first-mover advantage in the field of solid-state batteries; The world's leading carbon nanotube company, with single-walled carbon nanotube mass production capacity, has a leading layout of Dow technology (300409) in the field of solid-state batteries.

Risk warning: the risk that downstream demand is less than expected; the risk that the application of technology does not meet expectations; technology and product upgrade and iteration risks; Market competition intensifies the risk.