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puts batteries at the  centre of its EV masterplan","apple-puts-batteries-at-the-centre-of-its-ev-masterplan","article/apple-puts-batteries-at-the-centre-of-its-ev-masterplan",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":560,"content":570,"excerpt":680,"featured":50,"reporter":681,"_editable":685,"component":686,"seo_title":553,"categories":687,"visibility":697,"author_company":49,"featured_image":698,"seo_description":680,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":703,"formattedArticleDate":704},"2dbb570a-d701-4ffb-b96d-f01694c81404","2016-07-20 00:00",[],[561],{"slug":562,"name":563,"content":564},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":565,"image":566,"bio":568,"linkedin":569},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":567},"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":571,"content":572},"doc",[573,580,585,590,595,600,605,610,615,620,625,630,635,640,645,650,655,660,665,670,675],{"type":574,"attrs":575,"content":576},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[577],{"text":578,"type":579}," Law suit exposes Apple’s electric vehicle ambitions and focus on batteries as Project:Titan begins to emerge from the shadows","text",{"type":574,"attrs":581,"content":582},{"textAlign":49},[583],{"text":584,"type":579},"The electric vehicle (EV) ambitions of Apple Inc has been brought into the public domain after lithium-ion battery producer, A123 Systems, filed a lawsuit against the Californiabased company for “systematically” poaching employees to establish a new battery division.",{"type":574,"attrs":586,"content":587},{"textAlign":49},[588],{"text":589,"type":579},"The venture, reportedly named Project:Titan, has already seen Apple recruit “hundreds of employees” according to the Wall Street Journal and is expected to see the world’s most profitable company enter the self-driving, EV industry.",{"type":574,"attrs":591,"content":592},{"textAlign":49},[593],{"text":594,"type":579},"The law suit filed by A123, signifies intensifying competition in the EV market, as firms seek to establish themselves in the industry ahead of what are expected to be significant growth rates over the coming years.",{"type":574,"attrs":596,"content":597},{"textAlign":49},[598],{"text":599,"type":579},"As these project developments expose a shortage of skilled battery experts in today’s market, attempts by major technology firms to develop battery capabilities also increases the potential for tightening supply conditions in raw material markets.",{"type":574,"attrs":601,"content":602},{"textAlign":49},[603],{"text":604,"type":579},"With established producers such as Tesla Motors, Foxconn Technology Group, LG Chem and Boston Power already developing battery megafactories, the introduction of major new, financially powerful producers, such as Apple, is likely to put significant strain on upstream suppliers.",{"type":574,"attrs":606,"content":607},{"textAlign":49},[608],{"text":609,"type":579}," Masters of the supply chain",{"type":574,"attrs":611,"content":612},{"textAlign":49},[613],{"text":614,"type":579},"Apple is the ultimate modern company in terms of supply chain management.",{"type":574,"attrs":616,"content":617},{"textAlign":49},[618],{"text":619,"type":579},"Since becoming CEO in mid-2011, Tim Cook has turned Apple into the most profitable company in history.",{"type":574,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623],{"text":624,"type":579},"Cook has taken the innovative products created by former chief Steve Jobs, and commercialised them to a level never seen before in consumer electronics.",{"type":574,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":579},"The distribution channels Cook and his team have developed – in addition to cutting manufacturing costs – has seen the portable electronics market boom to levels beyond even the most bullish of expectations. Industry spectators will be curious to see if this success can be replicated in the EV space.",{"type":574,"attrs":631,"content":632},{"textAlign":49},[633],{"text":634,"type":579},"Through the company’s efficient supply chain management and close partnership with manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group, Apple made $18bn in revenue, selling 34,000 iPhones an hour, on average, between October and December 2014. That equated to 74.5m units over the quarter.",{"type":574,"attrs":636,"content":637},{"textAlign":49},[638],{"text":639,"type":579},"It was revealed in March 2015 that Apple was selling iPhones at double the smartphone industry growth rate of 25% a year, primarily thanks to a successful launch in China where higher prices have not deterred consumers in search of the status symbol that Apple products bring.",{"type":574,"attrs":641,"content":642},{"textAlign":49},[643],{"text":644,"type":579},"The logistical operation to execute such huge numbers on a global scale is truly staggering and is one that sees Apple sitting on $178bn in cash.",{"type":574,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"textAlign":49},[648],{"text":649,"type":579},"So the question is: what new global growth market can Apple invest its huge sums of cash in while still play to its strengths?",{"type":574,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":579},"In Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s opinion, there are not many options available and the EV sector is the strongest viable market.",{"type":574,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":579},"In essence an EV is more akin to an iPhone than a car – it is an iPhone on wheels. The software that drives the car’s efficiency is nearly as important as the batteries that power it. Yet EVs are the new technology entering a very well established auto industry that has not seen true disruption since it was founded.",{"type":574,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":579},"Tesla Motors has already proven what slick design, innovative thinking and good software can do for a high-end EV market.",{"type":574,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":579},"Tesla has also identified that cheaper and better batteries are the only way that the mass market EV space will succeed and has therefore invested $5bn in building the Gigafactory – a lithium-ion superplant that will require huge volumes of high-specification graphite, lithium and cobalt to fuel it.",{"type":574,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"text":674,"type":579},"While building a team of battery experts is a start, new market entrants will soon find having supply chain visibility and control all the way upstream to the mine is crucial to any EV or battery plan and the only way to truly dominate the space.",{"type":574,"attrs":676,"content":677},{"textAlign":49},[678],{"text":679,"type":579},"Apple’s entry into this market will intensify the search for a new generation of hi-tech raw material suppliers.","Law suit exposes Apple’s electric vehicle ambitions and focus on batteries as Project:Titan begins to emerge from the shadows",[682],{"slug":562,"name":563,"content":683},{"job_title":565,"image":684,"bio":568,"linkedin":569},{"filename":567},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"2dbb570a-d701-4ffb-b96d-f01694c81404\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[688,691,694],{"slug":689,"name":690},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":692,"name":693},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":695,"name":696},"ev","EV","private",{"id":49,"alt":699,"name":699,"focus":699,"title":699,"source":699,"filename":700,"copyright":699,"fieldtype":701,"meta_data":702,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d56aef5014/bm-screen-shot-2016-07-20-at-132948.png","asset",{"alt":699,"title":699,"source":699,"copyright":699},"Jul 20, 2016","20th July 2016",[],[],1792773947915]