Highlights

• Chinese subsidiary Guizhou Jinrui wins national award for developing a new ultra-high-purity manganese tetroxide production method, a critical precursor for next-generation EV battery cathodes.
• The breakthrough purification process strips contaminants and exceeds quality standards, strengthening China's cost and quality advantage in midstream manganese refinement for batteries.
• Technology is already commercially adopted by China's leading LMO producers, widening the gap as the U.S. and EU lack comparable processing capacity for manganese-rich cathode chemistries.

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China has quietly advanced its position in the global battery-materials race. Guizhou Jinrui (opens in a new tab), a subsidiary of one of China’s key metallurgical research institutes, has won a top national science-and-technology award for developing a new method to produce ultra-high-purity manganese tetroxide — a critical precursor for lithium manganese oxide (LMO) and emerging high-manganese cathode chemistries.

Although framed as a domestic accolade

The real signal for Western audiences is the technical leap: China is pushing manganese refinement deeper into the high-performance segment of the EV battery chain.

The breakthrough centers on a multi-source synergistic purification approach, which uses several manganese feedstocks and a gradient purification system that aggressively strips out calcium, magnesium, and other trace contaminants. Combined with a custom reactor design, the process yields manganese tetroxide that exceeds China’s national quality standards across all key metrics — density, purity, particle structure, and surface area.

Why this matters:

1. China is boosting control over midstream manganese refinement

High-purity manganese sulfate and tetroxide will be foundational for next-generation high-manganese cathodes. The U.S. and EU currently lack comparable midstream processing capacity.

2. Cost reductions + quality gains = higher competitiveness

The new purification process reduces input costs while delivering product purity suitable for advanced battery applications. This strengthens China’s price and quality advantage.

3. Commercial adoption already underway

China’s leading LMO producers are already using this technology — meaning it is not merely academic; it is scaling in real industrial supply chains.

4. Strategic implications for the West

As American and European automakers explore manganese-rich cathode chemistries to reduce reliance on nickel and cobalt, China is moving ahead on refining capacity that will anchor future EV-battery competitiveness. Midstream processing — not raw ore — is becoming the true chokepoint.

Rare Earth Exchanges suggests that Guizhou Jinrui’s award is less about trophies and more about state-aligned industrial acceleration in a material increasingly central to mass-market EV platforms.

Disclaimer: This report is based on information released by media affiliated with a Chinese state-owned entity. All details should be independently verified by third-party, non-state sources before informing business, policy, or investment decisions.

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