China’s two largest lithium producers are set to report soaring earnings in the first half of the year, with profits projected to surge by as much as 50 times on the back of global demand for energy independence. Tianqi Lithium estimated net profit of between 2.85 billion yuan (US$420 million) and 4.25 billion yuan for the six months ended June 30, a year-on-year jump of between 3,276 per cent and 4,935 per cent, according to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Tuesday night. “Driven by multiple tailwinds including the development of the new energy industry and growth in downstream demand, the average selling prices of the company’s major lithium products rose markedly compared with the same period last year,” the Sichuan-based company said in the filing. Tianqi operates the world’s largest lithium brines in Chile and the biggest hard-rock lithium mine in Australia, and is a major producer of lithium chemicals. Ganfeng Lithium Group, meanwhile, forecast net profit of between 3.65 billion yuan and 4.6 billion yuan for the first half, reversing a net loss of 531 million yuan a year earlier and ending two consecutive years of interim losses, according to a filing with the exchange on Tuesday. Besides growth in the global renewable energy sector, the rise of the energy storage business also contributed to the earnings boom, as it “significantly elevated the sales of lithium-ion batteries”, said Ganfeng, the world’s largest producer of metal lithium and lithium compounds. It also manufactures lithium-ion batteries. In May, Ganfeng said its orders had been booked through the first half of 2027 amid a global investment frenzy in energy storage systems and artificial intelligence data centres. The energy shock stemming from conflicts in the Middle East has further driven demand for battery-based electric vehicles and energy storage systems, where Chinese manufacturers dominate. Together with tightening access to lithium mines amid resource nationalism, prices of lithium carbonate – a key battery mineral – in mainland China soared to more than 200,000 yuan per tonne in mid-May, more than 230 per cent higher than a trough of around 62,000 yuan in July 2025. Despite recent retreats, Tuesday’s closing price of 153,180 yuan per tonne was still nearly 150 per cent above the low a year earlier. However, profitability at Tianqi and Ganfeng remains below levels seen in 2023 and before, when lithium carbonate prices spiked to 600,000 yuan per tonne in late 2022 and stayed above 200,000 yuan until September 2023. Share prices of Tianqi and Ganfeng have also underperformed this year, falling 34 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively, as of Tuesday in Hong Kong, compared with a 7.6 per cent drop in the Hang Seng Index, as global investors shifted to the semiconductor supply chain on renewed AI enthusiasm.