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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":728,"relatedVideos":729},112472446086365,"70863157-a7a1-429e-adb9-ef3167447781","Ambition versus reality: why battery production capacity does not equal supply","ambition-versus-reality-why-battery-production-capacity-does-not-equal-supply","article/ambition-versus-reality-why-battery-production-capacity-does-not-equal-supply",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":706,"featured":51,"reporter":707,"_editable":711,"component":712,"seo_title":543,"categories":713,"visibility":720,"author_company":49,"featured_image":721,"seo_description":706,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":726,"formattedArticleDate":727},"20529d3c-cced-4e64-b078-714373bca2cf","2022-09-02 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":560},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,583,588,593,598,603,606,613,618,623,628,633,638,643,648,653,658,663,668,671,676,681,686,691,696,701],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570,573,581],{"text":571,"type":572},"Battery companies are pledging to invest billions of dollars in new production capacity to meet rising demand for electric vehicles, yet the actual supply of batteries is likely to be considerably lower than ","text",{"text":574,"type":572,"marks":575},"announced",[576],{"type":577,"attrs":578},"link",{"href":579,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/15-billion-us-gigafactory-push-accelerates-north-american-capacity-growth","url",{"text":582,"type":572},".",{"type":567,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586],{"text":587,"type":572},"New battery gigafactories take time to ramp up to full production and even then will rarely operate above 80% utilisation rates. In the first few years as much as a third of cell production may also be wasted and create scrap material for recycling.",{"type":567,"attrs":589,"content":590},{"textAlign":49},[591],{"text":592,"type":572},"Last year there was 1,036 GWh of global battery production capacity, but only around 450 GWh of actual production, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assessment and Lithium ion Battery Database. That means on average the gigafactories were operating at around 50% capacity.",{"type":567,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596],{"text":597,"type":572},"Benchmark forecasts total global supply of lithium ion batteries to reach 4.5 TWh by 2031 with factories operating at around a 64% utilisation rate. By contrast there’s around 7 TWh of forecast battery capacity planned by that date.",{"type":567,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601],{"text":602,"type":572},"“Capacity gives a reflection of what the plant can potentially produce,” Aran Waid, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “Capacity reflects ambition.”",{"type":567,"attrs":604,"content":605},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":607,"attrs":608,"content":610},"heading",{"level":609,"textAlign":49},4,[611],{"text":612,"type":572},"Why capacity does not equal supply",{"type":567,"attrs":614,"content":615},{"textAlign":49},[616],{"text":617,"type":572},"The geographic differences in utilisation rates are most notable between China and the rest of the world.",{"type":567,"attrs":619,"content":620},{"textAlign":49},[621],{"text":622,"type":572},"Gigafactories outside of China generally have higher utilisation rates, according to Benchmark, with the most efficient plants based in South Korea and Japan.",{"type":567,"attrs":624,"content":625},{"textAlign":49},[626],{"text":627,"type":572},"Asian battery factories outside China will operate at a 77% utilisation rate this year, according to Benchmark, which may rise to 82% by 2035. China, by contrast, is expected to see utilisation rates of around 45% this year and 72% in 2035.",{"type":567,"attrs":629,"content":630},{"textAlign":49},[631],{"text":632,"type":572},"Even some of the largest Chinese battery companies use less of their production capacity than their peers outside the country.",{"type":567,"attrs":634,"content":635},{"textAlign":49},[636],{"text":637,"type":572},"Benchmark expects Tier One Chinese producers to reach about 70% of their installed capacity, compared to 75% to 80% for Tier One producers in the rest of the world. Tier One producers are defined as being qualified to supply more than one multinational OEM/EV producer outside of China.",{"type":567,"attrs":639,"content":640},{"textAlign":49},[641],{"text":642,"type":572},"“In China, supportive legislation and subsidised capital makes it easier for manufacturers to add capacity, rather than improve production efficiency, which can be a difficult multi-year process to achieve,” Waid said. “The West has a different capital allocation model than China, with greater importance on capital returns and utilisation rates.”",{"type":567,"attrs":644,"content":645},{"textAlign":49},[646],{"text":647,"type":572},"A total of 70% of forecast battery capacity by 2031 is set to be in China, according to Benchmark’s Gigafactory Assesment.",{"type":607,"attrs":649,"content":650},{"level":609,"textAlign":49},[651],{"text":652,"type":572},"Starting from scratch",{"type":567,"attrs":654,"content":655},{"textAlign":49},[656],{"text":657,"type":572},"In the short term, production figures will have a bigger disparity to plant capacity as battery producers build up their utilisation rates. There are also qualification processes involved in phasing up production that may take time.",{"type":567,"attrs":659,"content":660},{"textAlign":49},[661],{"text":662,"type":572},"China, however, has more experience building gigafactories and so ramps up production quicker, Waid said.",{"type":567,"attrs":664,"content":665},{"textAlign":49},[666],{"text":667,"type":572},"“Everything is starting from scratch [outside of China] so it will take time for manufacturers to work out the most efficient processes,” Waid said. “There will be more scrap as they try to improve their processes, so managing that scrap and being able to recycle it will be key.”",{"type":567,"attrs":669,"content":670},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":567,"attrs":672,"content":673},{"textAlign":49},[674],{"text":675,"type":572},"The only factories which come close to fully utilising their capacity are ones making batteries for portables. The maturity of the technology and processes to manufacture them at the required scale leads to very efficient factories. But even these processes will have an element of yield loss, Waid said.",{"type":607,"attrs":677,"content":678},{"level":609,"textAlign":49},[679],{"text":680,"type":572},"Raw material limits ",{"type":567,"attrs":682,"content":683},{"textAlign":49},[684],{"text":685,"type":572},"If battery companies have not secured the necessary battery raw materials that may also limit the ability to meet planned production capacity.",{"type":567,"attrs":687,"content":688},{"textAlign":49},[689],{"text":690,"type":572},"“The raw materials just aren’t there for everyone to run at 100% capacity,” Waid said. “But if a plant has a high capacity, it implies the company has strong connections further up the supply chain with cathode and anode supply.”",{"type":567,"attrs":692,"content":693},{"textAlign":49},[694],{"text":695,"type":572},"Tesla, for instance, has very ambitious gigafactory plans. The 200 GWh factories in Berlin and Austin are, in part, a show of strength and confidence by Tesla, he said.",{"type":567,"attrs":697,"content":698},{"textAlign":49},[699],{"text":700,"type":572},"“Tesla has worked on its battery strategy for a long time and has inked deals with numerous battery suppliers and battery materials companies,” Waid said. “By securing upstream supply, this will help ensure their gigafactories are fed and production can ramp up to meet rising demand.”",{"type":567,"attrs":702,"content":703},{"textAlign":49},[704],{"text":705,"type":572},"However, just because a company claims a capacity does not mean it’s a done deal. “Tesla’s future capacity plans are ambitious and will be difficult to achieve without further investment and supply upstream but securing offtake agreements will be key to help shield production from future supply bottlenecks,” Waid said.","Battery companies are pledging to invest billions of dollars in new production capacity to meet rising demand for electric vehicles, yet the actual supply of batteries is likely to be considerably lower than announced. New battery gigafactories take time to ramp up to full production and even then will rarely operate above 80% utilisation rates. […]",[708],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":709},{"job_title":558,"image":710,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"20529d3c-cced-4e64-b078-714373bca2cf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[714,717],{"slug":715,"name":716},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":718,"name":719},"gigafactories","Battery & Gigafactory","private",{"id":49,"alt":722,"name":722,"focus":722,"title":722,"source":722,"filename":723,"copyright":722,"fieldtype":724,"meta_data":725,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cd69e24462/bm-giga-texas.jpg","asset",{"alt":722,"title":722,"source":722,"copyright":722},"Sep 02, 2022","2nd September 2022",[],[],1783093142320]