--- title: "AI starts 'eating batteries': Azure Lithium Core shifts from tool batteries to servers and robots" type: "Topics" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/43480333.md" description: "On the evening of August 17, Azure Lithium disclosed its H1 2026 report. Also on the evening of August 17, Unitree Robotics announced that its shares will be listed on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on August 19, a date subsequently confirmed by an SSE announcement. The recent moves by both companies provide a new vantage point for observing the lithium battery industry: AI expansion is extending battery demand from consumer electronics, power tools, and EVs to data centers and embodied intelligence..." datetime: "2026-08-19T08:48:35.000Z" locales: - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/43480333.md) - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/43480333.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/43480333.md) author: "[财报研究](https://longbridge.com/en/profiles/2152743.md)" generator: "portal-rs" --- # AI starts 'eating batteries': Azure Lithium Core shifts from tool batteries to servers and robots On the evening of August 17, Azure Lithium disclosed its H1 2026 report. Also on the evening of August 17, Unitree Robotics announced that its shares would be listed on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on August 19. The listing date was subsequently confirmed by an SSE announcement. The recent moves by both companies provide a new vantage point for the lithium battery industry: AI expansion is extending battery demand from consumer electronics, power tools, and EVs to data centers and embodied intelligence. **AI Data Centers Shift Batteries from "Backup Power" to "Power Management"** As large-scale GPU clusters experience faster power fluctuations and higher rack densities, batteries are taking on expanded roles in peak shaving, load smoothing, and ensuring computing continuity. Server backup power isn't a new business; AI has simply changed the load profile. In July this year, the UK's Financial Times reported that power fluctuations in AI data centers could reach tens of megawatts within milliseconds, prompting battery makers to develop faster energy storage solutions to meet this demand. NVIDIA has integrated energy storage into the power design of its next-gen AI racks. The GB300 NVL72 uses a power-smoothing solution with storage, which NVIDIA claims can reduce grid-side peak demand by up to 30%. This solution will also be applied to the GB200 NVL72. For next-gen AI data centers, NVIDIA is simultaneously pushing an 800V DC architecture, allowing energy storage to integrate more flexibly into the power chain. Global battery manufacturers are following suit. In August, Samsung SDI announced it would strengthen its BBU business for AI data centers, highlighting the suitability of cylindrical cells for space utilization, high power, and safety. Panasonic plans to produce data center cells at its Kansas factory in the US. Its CEO explicitly stated that the company is targeting distributed systems on the server side and will continue with nickel-based battery routes. Recent moves by global battery makers reveal why BBUs carry higher information content for Azure Lithium. AI data centers don't just need "more batteries"; they require higher power density, smaller form factors, faster response times, and greater reliability—priorities that differ from traditional large-scale centralized storage, which focuses on low cost and long cycle life. Herbert Simon offered a classic definition of design in "The Sciences of the Artificial": design is the effort to "change existing states into preferred states". The evolution of AI server power supply has always tried to "change existing states into preferred states." As chip performance improves, the power systems around them must be redesigned. Although batteries don't generate compute, they are beginning to determine whether expensive compute assets can release their potential stably. Azure Lithium's foundation rests on 20 years of cylindrical battery accumulation. The H1 report reveals that its full-jelly-roll products have advanced to product validation and mass production delivery stages, with single-cell energy densities reaching or exceeding 350Wh/kg. They have also finalized the design application of 10C fast-charging graphite. The full-jelly-roll production line in Malaysia is now operational. With confirmed BBU orders, these performance parameters map directly to clear commercial scenarios. **Battery Scarcity Stems from the Triple Constraints of Weight, Power, and Range** Robotics offers a longer runway for the battery industry but tests execution speed more rigorously. In January, TrendForce projected that global humanoid robot shipments would exceed 50,000 units in 2026, a YoY growth of over 700%. Their assessment noted that current humanoid robots still rely primarily on high-nickel ternary lithium batteries as their power source, largely due to energy density. The company also confirmed that BBU backup power has received confirmed orders from some clients, and AI robots/dog robots now cover all first-tier domestic clients, with related shipments significantly up YoY. Industrial volume signs are emerging. Unitree Robotics officially listed on the STAR Market on August 19. Previously, the company disclosed that by July this year, it had cumulatively produced and delivered approximately 18,000 bipedal humanoid robots. Just one day before the listing, Reuters focused its observation of China's robotics industry on commercial viability: the industry can already demonstrate complex actions like running and jumping, but now needs to answer questions regarding economic efficiency in factories, warehousing, and services. This stage holds significant opportunities for battery suppliers but demands restraint. Currently, Azure Lithium does not separately disclose robot battery revenue, nor does it publicly name specific clients. Therefore, "covering all first-tier domestic clients" is better viewed as progress in client validation rather than a direct proxy for profit scale. However, the technical direction aligns closely with the company's product upgrades. Humanoid robots must fit compute units, actuators, sensors, and batteries into a limited chassis. Energy density affects range, high C-rate capability relates to power output during rapid movement, and safety constrains material and structural choices. Azure Lithium currently has two product lines: ternary lithium and LFP batteries, while continuing to advance technologies such as full-jelly-roll, ultra-high-nickel cathodes, and low-expansion silicon materials. While BBUs and robotics appear to belong to different domains—compute infrastructure vs. smart terminals—their underlying needs intersect significantly: limited space, rising power requirements, and strict reliability standards. This gives high-performance cylindrical battery tech room to migrate. If robot scale continues to expand, competition may shift from "having batteries" to "how long it works under the same weight, how high the peak output is, and how stable batch consistency is." Such competition favors firms with high C-rate manufacturing experience, but ultimately, demand scaling depends on 整机 shipments and actual runtime. **Post-Order Expansion Still Requires Cash Flow and Capacity Efficiency Tests** According to the H1 report, Azure Lithium achieved operating revenue of RMB 4.858bn in H1, up 30.35% YoY; net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 511mn, up 53.39% YoY. The most solid changes occurred in core operations, with lithium batteries driving incremental growth. Lithium battery revenue reached RMB 2.527bn, accounting for 52.03% of group revenue. Lithium battery revenue growth hit 58.43%, significantly outpacing the group's 30.35% top-line growth. The lithium battery gross margin reached 22.84%, expanding 120bps YoY. Overseas revenue reached RMB 1.046bn, surging 107.73% YoY, with its share rising from 13.51% in the prior-year period to 21.52%. LED business revenue was RMB 861mn in H1, up 0.16% YoY; metal logistics revenue was RMB 1.366bn, up 14.83% YoY. Capacity is expanding in tandem. The full-jelly-roll line at the Malaysia base is operational, and the company is preparing to build a lithium battery production base in Indonesia, planned to start construction in 2027. Construction in progress stood at RMB 798mn at the end of H1, up from RMB 392mn at the end of 2025. Capacity building brings explicit operating costs. Tianpeng Malaysia posted a net loss of RMB 49.55mn in H1. The company disclosed that the Malaysia lithium battery project is still in its early production phase and has not yet reached expected yields post-full-capacity. Overall, the other side of Azure Lithium's fundamentals is that high-end products require new equipment, new lines, and overseas manufacturing capabilities. Depreciation, labor, yield rates, and utilization during the capacity ramp-up will all impact the speed of profit release. Cash flow requires continued tracking. Net cash flow from operating activities was RMB 540mn in H1, down 27.33% YoY. Accounts receivable stood at RMB 2.456bn at period-end, up from RMB 2.184bn at the end of 2025. Inventory increased from RMB 1.935bn to RMB 2.328bn. Working capital absorption during rapid revenue expansion is common, but for BBU and robotics businesses to improve growth quality, gains must ultimately reflect in collections, capacity utilization, and margins. The layouts by NVIDIA, Samsung SDI, Panasonic, etc., illustrate that power and storage are becoming integral parts of the redesign needed for high-density AI systems. Azure Lithium provides a verifiable starting point: confirmed BBU orders, expanding robot client coverage, full-jelly-roll products entering mass delivery, and continuous overseas capacity construction. On the flip side, new scenario revenues aren't yet separately disclosed, overseas bases are still ramping, and cash flow/inventory changes need monitoring. Data centers need to handle power fluctuations from dense compute; robots need to solve range and instantaneous power within limited weight. These two scenarios jointly push high C-rate, high-energy-density cylindrical batteries to new application boundaries. This opens a new question for the small power battery industry beyond autos: **How much battery will AI ultimately consume, and what performance premiums will these new demands pay for?** For Azure Lithium, the H1 2026 report has already written opportunities into orders and shipments. The true quality of its fundamentals next depends on how orders convert to revenue, and how revenue 沉淀 s into profit and cash flow. ### Related Stocks - [002245.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/002245.CN.md) - [688836.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/688836.CN.md) - [SSNGY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SSNGY.US.md) - [NVDA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDA.US.md) - [NVDD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDD.US.md) - [NVDL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDL.US.md) - [NVDS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDS.US.md) - [NVDU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDU.US.md) - [NVDW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDW.US.md) - [NVDY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDY.US.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**