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lithium metal batteries an opportunity for the West?","are-lithium-metal-batteries-an-opportunity-for-the-west","article/are-lithium-metal-batteries-an-opportunity-for-the-west",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":575,"content":585,"excerpt":874,"featured":51,"reporter":875,"component":876,"seo_title":553,"categories":877,"visibility":889,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":890,"featured_image":894,"seo_description":897,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":898,"formattedArticleDate":899},"629c7818-4d5e-4e50-a2d8-cf5911fd5159","2024-08-13 00:00",[560,563,566,569,572],{"slug":561,"name":562},"arcadium-lithium","Arcadium Lithium",{"slug":564,"name":565},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",{"slug":567,"name":568},"lithium-metal","Lithium metal",{"slug":570,"name":571},"site-visit","Site visit",{"slug":573,"name":574},"solid-state","Solid-state",[576],{"slug":577,"name":578,"content":579},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":580,"image":581,"bio":583,"linkedin":584},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":582},"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":586,"content":587},"doc",[588,605,610,620,625,632,637,642,647,651,656,661,682,703,712,717,722,727,732,737,742,747,755,760,765,770,775,780,791,796,815,820,825,830,835,840,845,850,857],{"type":589,"attrs":590,"content":591},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[592,595,603],{"text":593,"type":594},"The lithium metal battery industry is nascent and rapidly growing with no country yet enjoying a dominant position. ","text",{"text":596,"type":594,"marks":597},"Upstream lithium metal production",[598],{"type":599,"attrs":600},"link",{"href":601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":602},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-metal-deficit-could-limit-next-generation-battery-development-this-year","url",{"text":604,"type":594},", however, is currently dominated by China, though this could change given the growth potential of the industry and technological advancements.",{"type":589,"attrs":606,"content":607},{"textAlign":49},[608],{"text":609,"type":594},"Lithium metal has several industrial and aerospace applications and is used in primary batteries today, though its use as a lithium ion battery anode is forecast to lead to a large rise in demand.",{"type":589,"attrs":611,"content":612},{"textAlign":49},[613,618],{"text":562,"type":594,"marks":614},[615],{"type":599,"attrs":616},{"href":617,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":602},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/in-conversation-with-arcadium-lithiums-ashish-patki",{"text":619,"type":594},", the largest producer of lithium metal outside of China, recently acquired technology to produce lithium metal from lithium carbonate. It bought the technology for $11 million from Canada’s Li-Metal, a next-generation lithium metal anode producer.",{"type":589,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623],{"text":624,"type":594},"“Acquiring high purity lithium metal at a palatable cost is a huge barrier for lithium metal battery producers today, so there will be a lot of innovators excited by Arcadium staking their intent to expand supply with this IP acquisition,” Rory McNulty, product director for new technologies at Benchmark, said.",{"type":626,"attrs":627,"content":629},"heading",{"level":628,"textAlign":49},4,[630],{"text":631,"type":594},"What is a lithium metal anode?",{"type":589,"attrs":633,"content":634},{"textAlign":49},[635],{"text":636,"type":594},"In a traditional lithium ion battery anode, only one lithium ion can be stored for every six carbon atoms in the structure. By removing this carbon host structure, the energy density of the anode can be greatly increased.",{"type":589,"attrs":638,"content":639},{"textAlign":49},[640],{"text":641,"type":594},"“You can theoretically increase the energy density of the anode by ten-fold,” McNulty said. “In practice there are many more considerations, and an increase at the cell level once optimised is expected to be between two-to-three-fold which still opens the doors to significant upside.”",{"type":589,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[645],{"text":646,"type":594},"Within a battery, all the lithium required for the battery to operate is located within the lithiated cathode material. As such, the thinner the lithium metal anode can be made, the greater the energy density increase possible.",{"type":626,"attrs":648,"content":649},{"level":628,"textAlign":49},[650],{"text":553,"type":594},{"type":589,"attrs":652,"content":653},{"textAlign":49},[654],{"text":655,"type":594},"The supply chain for traditional lithium ion batteries is dominated by China, with 80% of cathode active materials, 93% of anode active materials, and 84% of cells forecast to be produced in the country this year",{"type":589,"attrs":657,"content":658},{"textAlign":49},[659],{"text":660,"type":594},"Although there is some ex-China growth forecast this decade, China is expected to remain dominant. This is especially true for LFP-based cells which are particularly popular in China.",{"type":589,"attrs":662,"content":663},{"textAlign":49},[664,666,672,674,680],{"text":665,"type":594},"“The West has probably lost the battle for LFP,” Sarah Maryssael, chief strategy officer at ",{"text":667,"type":594,"marks":668},"Arcadium",[669],{"type":599,"attrs":670},{"href":671,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":602},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/arcadium-lithiums-liovix-technology-li-metal-anode-innovation-at-scale",{"text":673,"type":594},", told Benchmark Source. “No one has won the ",{"text":675,"type":594,"marks":676},"race yet for solid-state",[677],{"type":599,"attrs":678},{"href":679,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":602},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/is-2024-the-year-of-solid-state-battery-powered-evs",{"text":681,"type":594},".”",{"type":589,"attrs":683,"content":684},{"textAlign":49},[685,687,693,695,701],{"text":686,"type":594},"In terms of capacity announcements, around a third of lithium metal battery capacity in 2030 is set to be ",{"text":688,"type":594,"marks":689},"located in China",[690],{"type":599,"attrs":691},{"href":692,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":602},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/where-is-chinas-solid-state-battery-industry-developing",{"text":694,"type":594},", with another third in North America, according to ",{"text":696,"type":594,"marks":697},"Benchmark’s Solid-State and Lithium Metal Battery Forecast",[698],{"type":599,"attrs":699},{"href":700,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":602},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/solid-state/reports/",{"text":702,"type":594},".",{"type":589,"attrs":704,"content":705},{"textAlign":49},[706],{"type":707,"attrs":708},"image",{"id":49,"alt":709,"src":710,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":711},"The lithium metal battery race has to be won","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/b2bfc031aa/bm-lithium-metal-battery-capacity.png",{},{"type":626,"attrs":713,"content":714},{"level":628,"textAlign":49},[715],{"text":716,"type":594},"How is lithium metal produced?",{"type":589,"attrs":718,"content":719},{"textAlign":49},[720],{"text":721,"type":594},"Today most lithium metal is produced from lithium chloride. The high-purity lithium chloride required for this process can come from purifying the output of brine sources, though commonly battery-grade chloride is produced from lithium carbonate.",{"type":589,"attrs":723,"content":724},{"textAlign":49},[725],{"text":726,"type":594},"Battery-grade lithium chloride can then be converted to lithium metal through a process that generates five tonnes of toxic chlorine gas for every one tonne of metal produced.",{"type":589,"attrs":728,"content":729},{"textAlign":49},[730],{"text":731,"type":594},"“Mass production of chlorine raises several safety concerns which raise questions over whether permitting such production would be possible,” McNulty said.",{"type":589,"attrs":733,"content":734},{"textAlign":49},[735],{"text":736,"type":594},"When Benchmark analysts visited Arcadium’s Bessemer City site in North Carolina, the company explained that they use electrolysis to convert this chlorine into industrial bleach to then sell on. However, the viability of this approach is less certain as the lithium metal market scales to meet the needs of next-generation batteries.",{"type":589,"attrs":738,"content":739},{"textAlign":49},[740],{"text":741,"type":594},"Technical-grade lithium metal contains sodium contaminants at a level of around 1000 parts per million. Vacuum distillation is used to reduce this impurity level to below ten parts per million to produce battery-grade lithium metal.",{"type":589,"attrs":743,"content":744},{"textAlign":49},[745],{"text":746,"type":594},"As lithium metal is highly reactive in air, it must be handled in an inert, dry atmosphere. Arcadium showed Benchmark analysts the large argon-filled box in which they cast the lithium metal into ingots six to eight inches in diameter and up to 20 inches long.",{"type":589,"attrs":748,"content":749},{"textAlign":49},[750],{"type":707,"attrs":751},{"id":49,"alt":752,"src":753,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":754},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/3e0c8b0b16/bm-rory-mcnulty-5kh-lithium-metal-ingot-2.jpg",{},{"type":589,"attrs":756,"content":757},{"textAlign":49},[758],{"text":759,"type":594},"Rory McNulty holding a 5kg lithium metal ingot during a Benchmark site visit to Arcadium (formerlyLivent) in Bessemer City, North Carolina, US. The photo is taken in a dry room and McNulty is wearing a mask to limit the ingot’s exposure to exhaled carbon dioxide and water.",{"type":589,"attrs":761,"content":762},{"textAlign":49},[763],{"text":764,"type":594},"Transporting and handling the highly reactive lithium metal is a key challenge that the industry needs to face as next-generation technologies scale.",{"type":589,"attrs":766,"content":767},{"textAlign":49},[768],{"text":769,"type":594},"“It’s not an easy product to handle, and it comes with its own sort of safety risk,” Maryssael said. “The packaging and logistics of that supply chain as well is going to continue to be a challenge.”",{"type":589,"attrs":771,"content":772},{"textAlign":49},[773],{"text":774,"type":594},"Lithium metal anodes require lithium that is 30 micrometres or thinner. To achieve this, the lithium metal ingots go through an extrusion and rolling process. The thin sheet of lithium metal is then pressed onto a copper foil to make the anode.",{"type":589,"attrs":776,"content":777},{"textAlign":49},[778],{"text":779,"type":594},"To achieve even thinner anodes, some North American companies are developing innovative solutions.",{"type":589,"attrs":781,"content":782},{"textAlign":49},[783,789],{"text":784,"type":594,"marks":785},"Pure Lithium",[786],{"type":599,"attrs":787},{"href":788,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":602},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/brine-to-battery-a-vertically-integrated-lithium-metal-battery-company",{"text":790,"type":594},", based in Boston, US is developing a process to electroplate lithium onto the copper foil. The lithium is directly extracted from brine sources using their polymer membrane technology.",{"type":589,"attrs":792,"content":793},{"textAlign":49},[794],{"text":795,"type":594},"Li-Metal, based in Canada, is looking at using physical vapour deposition. This technology, developed in partnership with Mustang Vacuum Systems, vaporises the ingot under vacuum and deposits the lithium onto the copper substrate. This technology remains with Li-Metal and was not part of the deal with Arcadium.",{"type":589,"attrs":797,"content":798},{"textAlign":49},[799,804,811],{"text":800,"type":594,"marks":801},"Watch the ",[802],{"type":803},"italic",{"text":805,"type":594,"marks":806},"Battery Technology & Innovation",[807,810],{"type":599,"attrs":808},{"href":809,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":602},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/battery-technology-innovation-panel-session",{"type":803},{"text":812,"type":594,"marks":813}," panel session from Benchmark’s  Giga USA 2024 event in Washington D.C.",[814],{"type":803},{"type":626,"attrs":816,"content":817},{"level":628,"textAlign":49},[818],{"text":819,"type":594},"Lithium carbonate to metal",{"type":589,"attrs":821,"content":822},{"textAlign":49},[823],{"text":824,"type":594},"The technology Arcadium acquired from Li-Metal is able to produce lithium metal from technical-grade lithium carbonate, rather than requiring high purity lithium chloride.",{"type":589,"attrs":826,"content":827},{"textAlign":49},[828],{"text":829,"type":594},"One advantage of this is that the conversion process releases carbon dioxide gas rather than toxic chlorine gas.",{"type":589,"attrs":831,"content":832},{"textAlign":49},[833],{"text":834,"type":594},"“The second thing is, it gives us a lot more optionality in terms of how we optimise our network,” Maryssael said. “There’s value in converting low grade carbonate material into high purity end products.”",{"type":589,"attrs":836,"content":837},{"textAlign":49},[838],{"text":839,"type":594},"Maryssael explained that the technology acquired from Li-Metal is still at the pilot scale. It could take around two years to ascertain whether the technology has commercial viability.",{"type":589,"attrs":841,"content":842},{"textAlign":49},[843],{"text":844,"type":594},"“We’ll have a decision at that point once we can prove this technology can scale,” she said. “What do we do? Do we build a commercial scale plant? Do we do it ourselves, with a partner? Do we licence the technology? Do we sell the technology? I think all those options could potentially be on the table.”",{"type":626,"attrs":846,"content":847},{"level":628,"textAlign":49},[848],{"text":849,"type":594},"Join us at Benchmark Week 2024",{"type":589,"attrs":851,"content":852},{"textAlign":49},[853],{"text":854,"type":594,"marks":855},"Benchmark Week will return to Los Angeles on 12-14 November 2024, bringing global industry leaders, financiers and government officials together to chart a course for the technologies and supply chains central to the energy transition.",[856],{"type":803},{"type":589,"attrs":858,"content":859},{"textAlign":49},[860,864,871],{"text":861,"type":594,"marks":862},"Join us at Benchmark Week to forge connections, identify future partners and unlock market opportunities. ",[863],{"type":803},{"text":865,"type":594,"marks":866},"Purchase your tickets today",[867,870],{"type":599,"attrs":868},{"href":869,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":602},"https://benchmarkevents.benchmarkminerals.com/benchmarkweek2024",{"type":803},{"text":702,"type":594,"marks":872},[873],{"type":803},"The lithium metal battery industry is nascent and rapidly growing with no country yet enjoying a dominant position. Upstream lithium metal production, however, is currently dominated by China, though this could change given the growth potential of the industry and technological advancements. Lithium metal has several industrial and aerospace applications and is used in primary […]",[],"article",[878,881,884,887],{"slug":879,"name":880},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":882,"name":883},"battery-technology","Battery Technology",{"slug":885,"name":886},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":888,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":709,"name":752,"focus":752,"title":709,"source":752,"filename":891,"copyright":752,"fieldtype":892,"meta_data":893,"is_external_url":51},"https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1723633705/www-production/Lithium-metal-battery-capacity-no-y/Lithium-metal-battery-capacity-no-y.png?_i=AA","asset",{"alt":709,"title":709,"source":752,"copyright":752},{"id":49,"alt":752,"name":752,"focus":752,"title":752,"source":752,"filename":895,"copyright":752,"fieldtype":892,"meta_data":896,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5d99773b68/bm-li-metal-arcadium.png",{"alt":752,"title":752,"source":752,"copyright":752},"The lithium metal battery industry is nascent and rapidly growing with no country yet enjoying a dominant position.","Aug 13, 2024","13th August 2024",[],[],1789743895792]