Second-Life EV Battery Market Projected to Reach USD 224.24 Billion by 2040

Huayou Cobalt announced that the company has completed the issuance of its eleventh tranche of green sci-tech innovation bonds for 2026, with an issuance amount of 1 billion yuan, a term of two years, a par value of 100 yuan per unit, and a coupon rate of 2.20 percent. The bond is abbreviated as 26 Huayou Cobalt GN011 Sci-Tech Innovation Bond, with China CITIC Bank, China Merchants Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Bank of China, Industrial Bank, BOC International, and China Bohai Bank serving as lead underwriters. It was publicly issued in the national interbank bond market through bookbuilding and centralized placement. The proceeds will be used to replace procurement expenditures incurred by subsidiaries within three months for the recycling of used power batteries and their dismantled materials, as well as for raw material procurement for battery-grade lithium salt product manufacturing projects. The announcement shows that the company's 2025 annual shareholders' meeting has approved a proposal for the company and its subsidiaries to issue debt financing instruments of non-financial enterprises in 2026, with issuance methods including public offering and non-public targeted issuance.

The EV Board has approved a plan to restructure excise taxes on electric vehicles into three tiers, aimed at encouraging manufacturers to invest more and use more locally produced parts. Vehicles made in Thailand with high local content will receive the lowest tax rate, while imported vehicles from operators without a production base in Thailand will be taxed at the highest rate. A subcommittee will also be set up to accelerate development of the battery supply chain, used batteries, and EV charging infrastructure. The research arm of Kasikorn Bank sees this as positive for auto parts stocks and industrial estate operators that stand to benefit from production relocation and increased local content, while importers of fully assembled EVs may face pressure from the new tax structure.

Barclays analysts project that the global energy sector will require about $3.6 trillion in annual investment by 2027, driven by artificial intelligence, electrification, and energy-security concerns. This spending, spanning oil and gas, LNG, pipelines, power generation, grids, renewables, storage, and electrification, is expected to grow by more than 5% annually and exceed three times the capital needed for planned AI infrastructure. The bank describes an era of "energy addition," where demand for conventional and low-carbon energy rises simultaneously, with global energy demand growing at a 1.9% compound annual rate from 2025 to 2050. Data centers alone could add about 32 quadrillion BTUs of energy demand by 2040, equivalent to over 600 gigawatts and roughly matching Russia's 2025 consumption. Underinvestment has left upstream oil and gas capex about 45% below its peak, and over 2,500 GW of renewable and storage projects await grid connections, making grids and transmission networks major constraints. Barclays sees opportunities across upstream, oil services, LNG, pipelines, utilities, and clean tech, with 2028 earnings estimates for preferred stocks averaging 11% above consensus and price targets implying about 30% upside.