[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":715},["ShallowReactive",2],{"ticker-data":3,"story-article/chinas-booming-lfp-market-draws-tio2-attentions":550},[4,52,82,112,148,186,229,261,297,336,378,419,460,490,520],{"publishedDate":5,"updateFrequency":6,"updateFrequencyText":7,"label":8,"today":9,"last":10,"percentageChange":11,"yearToDate":12,"yearOnYear":13,"oneYearIndexTrend":14,"url":48,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"2026-10-14","2wk","Updated every 2 weeks","Lithium",317.07,322.34,-1.64,35.66,90.62,[15,16,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45],{"date":5,"value":9},{"date":17,"value":10},"2026-09-30",{"date":19,"value":20},"2026-09-16",354.99,{"date":22,"value":23},"2026-09-02",385.07,{"date":25,"value":26},"2026-08-19",372.67,{"date":28,"value":29},"2026-08-05",367.54,{"date":31,"value":32},"2026-07-22",388.26,{"date":34,"value":35},"2026-07-08",399.4,{"date":37,"value":38},"2026-06-24",410.62,{"date":40,"value":41},"2026-06-10",427.77,{"date":43,"value":44},"2026-05-27",449.85,{"date":46,"value":47},"2026-05-13",451.12,"/lithium/prices",null,false,true,{"publishedDate":5,"updateFrequency":6,"updateFrequencyText":7,"label":53,"today":54,"last":55,"percentageChange":56,"yearToDate":57,"yearOnYear":58,"oneYearIndexTrend":59,"url":48,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"Lithium Carbonate",256.83,278.71,-7.85,1.12,46.89,[60,61,62,64,66,68,70,72,74,76,78,80],{"date":5,"value":54},{"date":17,"value":55},{"date":19,"value":63},300.39,{"date":22,"value":65},306.07,{"date":25,"value":67},297.22,{"date":28,"value":69},296.63,{"date":31,"value":71},309.38,{"date":34,"value":73},317.2,{"date":37,"value":75},330.54,{"date":40,"value":77},346.5,{"date":43,"value":79},358.35,{"date":46,"value":81},350.28,{"publishedDate":5,"updateFrequency":6,"updateFrequencyText":7,"label":83,"today":84,"last":85,"percentageChange":86,"yearToDate":87,"yearOnYear":88,"oneYearIndexTrend":89,"url":48,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"Lithium Hydroxide",292.05,311.1,-6.12,43.7,92,[90,91,92,94,96,98,100,102,104,106,108,110],{"date":5,"value":84},{"date":17,"value":85},{"date":19,"value":93},339.85,{"date":22,"value":95},352.45,{"date":25,"value":97},341.12,{"date":28,"value":99},337.87,{"date":31,"value":101},354.36,{"date":34,"value":103},364.06,{"date":37,"value":105},376.67,{"date":40,"value":107},393.29,{"date":43,"value":109},411.01,{"date":46,"value":111},408.51,{"publishedDate":5,"updateFrequency":113,"updateFrequencyText":114,"label":115,"today":116,"last":117,"percentageChange":118,"yearToDate":119,"yearOnYear":120,"oneYearIndexTrend":121,"url":147,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"1wk","Updated every week","Cobalt",171.41,173.83,-1.39,-27.13,-1.06,[122,123,125,126,129,131,133,136,138,141,142,145],{"date":5,"value":116},{"date":124,"value":117},"2026-10-07",{"date":17,"value":117},{"date":127,"value":128},"2026-09-23",175.44,{"date":19,"value":130},178.66,{"date":22,"value":132},189.92,{"date":134,"value":135},"2026-08-26",192.6,{"date":25,"value":137},199.83,{"date":139,"value":140},"2026-08-12",217.25,{"date":28,"value":140},{"date":143,"value":144},"2026-07-29",221.25,{"date":31,"value":146},224.44,"/cobalt/prices",{"publishedDate":149,"updateFrequency":6,"updateFrequencyText":7,"label":150,"today":151,"last":152,"percentageChange":153,"yearToDate":154,"yearOnYear":155,"oneYearIndexTrend":156,"url":185,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"2026-10-21","Nickel",107.13,114.04,-6.06,-11.27,-0.65,[157,158,159,161,164,166,168,170,173,176,179,182],{"date":149,"value":151},{"date":124,"value":152},{"date":127,"value":160},116.1,{"date":162,"value":163},"2026-09-09",119.13,{"date":134,"value":165},119.61,{"date":139,"value":167},121.04,{"date":143,"value":169},121.19,{"date":171,"value":172},"2026-07-15",122.66,{"date":174,"value":175},"2026-07-01",125.61,{"date":177,"value":178},"2026-06-17",131.5,{"date":180,"value":181},"2026-06-03",134.65,{"date":183,"value":184},"2026-05-20",135.83,"/nickel/prices",{"publishedDate":17,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":189,"today":190,"last":191,"percentageChange":192,"yearToDate":193,"yearOnYear":194,"oneYearIndexTrend":195,"url":228,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"1mo","Updated every month","Natural Graphite",78.45,80.18,-2.16,-3.84,-4.03,[196,197,199,202,205,208,211,214,217,220,223,226],{"date":17,"value":190},{"date":198,"value":191},"2026-08-28",{"date":200,"value":201},"2026-07-31",80.66,{"date":203,"value":204},"2026-06-30",82.87,{"date":206,"value":207},"2026-05-29",82.99,{"date":209,"value":210},"2026-04-30",82.93,{"date":212,"value":213},"2026-03-31",82.39,{"date":215,"value":216},"2026-02-27",81.92,{"date":218,"value":219},"2026-01-30",81.69,{"date":221,"value":222},"2025-12-31",81.58,{"date":224,"value":225},"2025-11-28",81.35,{"date":227,"value":225},"2025-10-31","/natural-graphite/prices",{"publishedDate":17,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":230,"today":231,"last":232,"percentageChange":233,"yearToDate":234,"yearOnYear":235,"oneYearIndexTrend":236,"url":260,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"Anode Coke",86.15,81.86,5.24,15.73,19.78,[237,238,239,241,242,244,246,248,250,252,254,257],{"date":17,"value":231},{"date":200,"value":232},{"date":203,"value":240},80.54,{"date":206,"value":240},{"date":209,"value":243},84.01,{"date":212,"value":245},79.79,{"date":215,"value":247},75.72,{"date":218,"value":249},74.61,{"date":221,"value":251},74.44,{"date":227,"value":253},72.75,{"date":255,"value":256},"2025-09-30",71.92,{"date":258,"value":259},"2025-08-29",71.46,"/synthetic-graphite/prices",{"publishedDate":262,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":263,"today":264,"last":265,"percentageChange":266,"yearToDate":267,"yearOnYear":268,"oneYearIndexTrend":269,"url":296,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"2026-10-15","Anode",80.45,80.24,0.27,1.81,3.2,[270,271,273,275,276,278,281,284,287,289,291,293],{"date":262,"value":264},{"date":272,"value":265},"2026-09-15",{"date":274,"value":265},"2026-08-17",{"date":171,"value":265},{"date":277,"value":265},"2026-06-15",{"date":279,"value":280},"2026-05-15",79.16,{"date":282,"value":283},"2026-04-15",81.98,{"date":285,"value":286},"2026-03-16",79.03,{"date":288,"value":286},"2026-02-16",{"date":290,"value":286},"2026-01-15",{"date":292,"value":286},"2025-12-15",{"date":294,"value":295},"2025-11-17",77.79,"/anode/prices",{"publishedDate":298,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":299,"today":300,"last":301,"percentageChange":302,"yearToDate":303,"yearOnYear":304,"oneYearIndexTrend":305,"url":335,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"2026-08-01","Cathode",73.32,77.21,-5.04,14.41,55.07,[306,307,308,311,314,317,320,323,325,327,329,332],{"date":298,"value":300},{"date":174,"value":301},{"date":309,"value":310},"2026-06-01",80.32,{"date":312,"value":313},"2026-05-01",81.71,{"date":315,"value":316},"2026-04-01",77.27,{"date":318,"value":319},"2026-03-01",81.99,{"date":321,"value":322},"2026-02-01",80.5,{"date":290,"value":324},72.79,{"date":292,"value":326},64.08,{"date":294,"value":328},62.01,{"date":330,"value":331},"2025-10-15",53.51,{"date":333,"value":334},"2025-09-15",49.5,"/cathode/prices",{"publishedDate":337,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":338,"today":339,"last":340,"percentageChange":341,"yearToDate":342,"yearOnYear":343,"oneYearIndexTrend":344,"url":377,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"2025-03-31","Lithium ion Batteries",74.53,71.3,4.53,-1.6,-20.88,[345,346,348,351,354,357,360,363,366,368,371,374],{"date":337,"value":339},{"date":347,"value":340},"2025-02-28",{"date":349,"value":350},"2025-01-31",71.45,{"date":352,"value":353},"2024-12-31",75.74,{"date":355,"value":356},"2024-11-29",76.98,{"date":358,"value":359},"2024-10-31",77.34,{"date":361,"value":362},"2024-09-30",77.43,{"date":364,"value":365},"2024-08-30",80.56,{"date":367,"value":207},"2024-07-31",{"date":369,"value":370},"2024-06-28",87.2,{"date":372,"value":373},"2024-05-31",90.7,{"date":375,"value":376},"2024-04-30",93.2,"/battery-gigafactory/prices",{"publishedDate":379,"updateFrequency":6,"updateFrequencyText":7,"label":380,"today":381,"last":382,"percentageChange":383,"yearToDate":384,"yearOnYear":385,"oneYearIndexTrend":386,"url":418,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"2026-10-08","Black Mass",37.11,38.95,-4.72,-14,18.31,[387,388,390,393,396,399,402,405,408,411,414,416],{"date":379,"value":381},{"date":389,"value":382},"2026-09-24",{"date":391,"value":392},"2026-09-10",42.03,{"date":394,"value":395},"2026-08-27",43.88,{"date":397,"value":398},"2026-08-13",42.33,{"date":400,"value":401},"2026-07-30",43.42,{"date":403,"value":404},"2026-07-16",46.74,{"date":406,"value":407},"2026-07-02",46.01,{"date":409,"value":410},"2026-06-18",49.57,{"date":412,"value":413},"2026-02-12",47.34,{"date":415,"value":410},"2026-01-29",{"date":290,"value":417},43.15,"/recycling/black-mass-prices",{"publishedDate":262,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":420,"today":421,"last":422,"percentageChange":423,"yearToDate":424,"yearOnYear":425,"oneYearIndexTrend":426,"url":459,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"Rare Earths",172.08,171.72,0.21,20.59,30.21,[427,428,430,433,436,439,442,445,448,451,454,457],{"date":262,"value":421},{"date":429,"value":422},"2026-10-01",{"date":431,"value":432},"2026-09-03",170.83,{"date":434,"value":435},"2026-08-20",169.63,{"date":437,"value":438},"2026-08-06",172.28,{"date":440,"value":441},"2026-07-23",173.94,{"date":443,"value":444},"2026-07-09",171.69,{"date":446,"value":447},"2026-06-25",168.55,{"date":449,"value":450},"2026-06-11",165,{"date":452,"value":453},"2026-05-28",163.89,{"date":455,"value":456},"2026-05-14",172.63,{"date":209,"value":458},175.6,"/rare-earths/prices",{"publishedDate":198,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":461,"today":462,"last":463,"percentageChange":464,"yearToDate":465,"yearOnYear":466,"oneYearIndexTrend":467,"url":377,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"NCM Mid-Nickel",152.7,162.48,-6.02,17.38,53.11,[468,469,470,472,474,476,478,480,482,484,486,488],{"date":198,"value":462},{"date":200,"value":463},{"date":203,"value":471},171.08,{"date":206,"value":473},173.65,{"date":209,"value":475},164.53,{"date":212,"value":477},157.28,{"date":215,"value":479},151.44,{"date":218,"value":481},144.5,{"date":221,"value":483},130.09,{"date":224,"value":485},124.6,{"date":227,"value":487},122.35,{"date":255,"value":489},103.5,{"publishedDate":198,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":491,"today":492,"last":493,"percentageChange":494,"yearToDate":495,"yearOnYear":496,"oneYearIndexTrend":497,"url":377,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"NCM High-Nickel",144.45,149.67,-3.49,26.69,49.06,[498,499,500,502,504,506,508,510,512,514,516,518],{"date":198,"value":492},{"date":200,"value":493},{"date":203,"value":501},157.37,{"date":206,"value":503},160,{"date":209,"value":505},149.53,{"date":212,"value":507},141.97,{"date":215,"value":509},136.99,{"date":218,"value":511},129.81,{"date":221,"value":513},114.02,{"date":224,"value":515},109.17,{"date":227,"value":517},109.02,{"date":255,"value":519},99.44,{"publishedDate":198,"updateFrequency":187,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":521,"today":522,"last":523,"percentageChange":524,"yearToDate":525,"yearOnYear":526,"oneYearIndexTrend":527,"url":377,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"LFP",229.17,218.34,4.96,49.35,83.44,[528,529,530,532,534,536,538,540,542,544,546,548],{"date":198,"value":522},{"date":200,"value":523},{"date":203,"value":531},239.1,{"date":206,"value":533},258.32,{"date":209,"value":535},239.37,{"date":212,"value":537},213.01,{"date":215,"value":539},204.49,{"date":218,"value":541},218.06,{"date":221,"value":543},153.45,{"date":224,"value":545},134.02,{"date":227,"value":547},118.22,{"date":255,"value":549},111.93,{"id":551,"uuid":552,"name":553,"slug":554,"full_slug":555,"content":556,"relatedArticles":713,"relatedVideos":714},112473447277075,"6a686513-864a-4a81-bc4f-929cb07664d9","China’s booming LFP market draws TiO2 attentions","chinas-booming-lfp-market-draws-tio2-attentions","article/chinas-booming-lfp-market-draws-tio2-attentions",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":562,"content":572,"excerpt":689,"featured":50,"reporter":690,"_editable":694,"component":695,"seo_title":553,"categories":696,"visibility":705,"author_company":49,"featured_image":706,"seo_description":689,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":711,"formattedArticleDate":712},"01c05a53-f6d5-443d-8a98-639598090428","2021-04-16 00:00",[560],{"slug":561,"name":521},"lfp",[563],{"slug":564,"name":565,"content":566},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":567,"image":568,"bio":570,"linkedin":571},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":569},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":573,"content":574},"doc",[575,582,587,592,597,602,607,614,619,624,629,634,639,644,649,654,659,664,669,674,679,684],{"type":576,"attrs":577,"content":578},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[579],{"text":580,"type":581},"A number of Chinese titanium dioxide producers have signalled their plans to enter the LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cathode market in 2021, drawn in by China’s booming battery industry, where the new capacity pipeline has strengthened further throughout Q1.","text",{"type":576,"attrs":583,"content":584},{"textAlign":49},[585],{"text":586,"type":581},"In Q1, CNNC Huayuan Titanium Dioxide Co (CNNC), a listed titanium dioxide producer, announced plans to invest RMB 12.1bn ($1.9bn) to construct a 500,000 tpa LFP cathode production facility in Baiyin, Gansu province, built in three stages (100,000, 200,000, 200,000 tpa respectively).",{"type":576,"attrs":588,"content":589},{"textAlign":49},[590],{"text":591,"type":581},"Despite the commitment to develop what would be the world’s second largest cathode project, CNNC has no prior experience in the battery supply chain, a factor which saw the company come under intense scrutiny from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, on which it is listed.",{"type":576,"attrs":593,"content":594},{"textAlign":49},[595],{"text":596,"type":581},"Despite misgivings within China, the company continued to progress its project, having reportedly started processing land permits with local authorities and having hired a technical team specialising in LFP cathode production, although no production timeline has yet been provided.",{"type":576,"attrs":598,"content":599},{"textAlign":49},[600],{"text":601,"type":581},"Another major titanium dioxide producer, The Lomon Billions Group (Lomon) has also signified its intentions to enter the battery supply chain. In March, it held a signing ceremony with the Qinyang Municipal Government of Henan Province, promising a RMB 2bn ($307m) investment into a ‘battery material industrial project’ in the region.",{"type":576,"attrs":603,"content":604},{"textAlign":49},[605],{"text":606,"type":581},"While Lomon has yet to confirm specific details of the project, the plan reportedly includes a 150,000 tpa new energy battery materials project. Benchmark expects that Lomon will follow CNNC’s lead and focus on LFP cathode development.",{"type":608,"attrs":609,"content":611},"heading",{"level":610,"textAlign":49},4,[612],{"text":613,"type":581},"Why are China’s TiO2 producers pivoting to the lithium ion supply chain?",{"type":576,"attrs":615,"content":616},{"textAlign":49},[617],{"text":618,"type":581},"The majority of China’s titanium dioxide producers use a sulphuric acid leaching process. This process generates large volumes of sulphuric acid and ferrous sulphate as waste, which are costly to deal with and have significant environmental impacts. However, both sulphuric acid and ferrous sulphate can also be utilised to produce iron phosphate – a material central to the production of LFP cathodes.",{"type":576,"attrs":620,"content":621},{"textAlign":49},[622],{"text":623,"type":581},"Titanium dioxide producers face high costs to deal with sulphuric acid waste and while ferrous sulphate waste can be sold in east China, and occasionally the west, producers will often incur costs in the process.",{"type":576,"attrs":625,"content":626},{"textAlign":49},[627],{"text":628,"type":581},"CNNC’s plans to repurpose this waste to produce iron phosphate, and ultimately LFP cathodes, provides a way to offset this cost and potentially create a valuable new revenue stream.",{"type":576,"attrs":630,"content":631},{"textAlign":49},[632],{"text":633,"type":581},"CNNC’s planned 500,000 tpa LFP capacity is based on the amount of waste it is expected to produce from its 300,000 tpa titanium dioxide production plant, which is soon to enter production. It is reported that this amount of titanium dioxide capacity will produce 1.2 million tpa of sulphuric acid and 1.05 million tpa of ferrous sulphate.",{"type":576,"attrs":635,"content":636},{"textAlign":49},[637],{"text":638,"type":581},"It is worth noting that outside of China a different titanium dioxide processing route is used – an advanced chloride method – which is considered more environmentally and does not have the same waste products. As such, without the significant supply of sulphuric acid available to many of China’s titanium dioxide producers, Benchmark expects titanium dioxide producers entering the LFP market to be limited to China.",{"type":608,"attrs":640,"content":641},{"level":610,"textAlign":49},[642],{"text":643,"type":581},"China’s LFP boom",{"type":576,"attrs":645,"content":646},{"textAlign":49},[647],{"text":648,"type":581},"Tesla’s announcement in 2020 that it planned to use LFP batteries in its standard range Model 3s in China drew attention to LFP’s central role as a cathode material for Chinese passenger EVs. BYD’s announcement this month that its EVs will exclusively use LFP cathodes further illustrates the faith that LFP incumbents have in the technology and belief that energy density improvments can be made that will make the technology competitive beyond heavy-duty EV applications.",{"type":576,"attrs":650,"content":651},{"textAlign":49},[652],{"text":653,"type":581},"LFP’s renaissance has not been limited to its growing use in electric vehicles and it has benefited from the build out of energy storage systems (ESS) in China in the past year, particularly for 5G base stations, which primarily use LFP batteries as backup power sources. Between January and October 2020 over 700,000 5G base stations were built in China according to a white paper published by China’s Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).",{"type":576,"attrs":655,"content":656},{"textAlign":49},[657],{"text":658,"type":581},"With this backdrop of EV and ESS demand growth, existing LFP producers in China have significantly ramped up expansion plans this year.",{"type":576,"attrs":660,"content":661},{"textAlign":49},[662],{"text":663,"type":581},"In February, Dynanonic, China’s leading LFP cathode producer according to the Benchmark Cathode Market Assessment, outlined its ambitions to expand its LFP production capacity from 50,000 tpa in 2020 to 140,000 tpa in 2021, ramping up to 220,000 tpa in 2022. In March, Yuneng New Energy, which currently operates 50,000 tpa of LFP capacity, announced an additional 50,000 tpa of LFP cathode capacity in Suining, Sichuan province.",{"type":608,"attrs":665,"content":666},{"level":610,"textAlign":49},[667],{"text":668,"type":581},"LFP’s future ",{"type":576,"attrs":670,"content":671},{"textAlign":49},[672],{"text":673,"type":581},"While LFP’s growth story is currently dominated by China, Western automakers continue to signal their intentions to make use of LFP cathodes, such as Volkswagen which outlined plans in March to use LFP outside of China and Elon Musk’s continued hints that Tesla intends to expand its use of LFP to new regions.",{"type":576,"attrs":675,"content":676},{"textAlign":49},[677],{"text":678,"type":581},"These efforts will be supported by any capacity expansions which lower the cost basis of LFP production and will add momentum to the use of varying cathode chemistries for different tiers of passenger EVs further afield than China.",{"type":576,"attrs":680,"content":681},{"textAlign":49},[682],{"text":683,"type":581},"LFP’s recent performance and future growth prospects are now incentivising major capacity expansions from established cathode producers and new entrants within China.",{"type":576,"attrs":685,"content":686},{"textAlign":49},[687],{"text":688,"type":581},"However, despite the overall momentum towards LFP, Benchmark still anticipates that the majority of passenger EVs deployed outside China will remain focused on nickel-based cathode technologies, due to the continued emphasis on energy density improvements.","A number of Chinese titanium dioxide producers have signalled their plans to enter the LFP (lithium iron phosphate) cathode market in 2021, drawn in by China’s booming battery industry, where the new capacity pipeline has strengthened further throughout Q1. In Q1, CNNC Huayuan Titanium Dioxide Co (CNNC), a listed titanium dioxide producer, announced plans to […]",[691],{"slug":564,"name":565,"content":692},{"job_title":567,"image":693,"bio":570,"linkedin":571},{"filename":569},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"01c05a53-f6d5-443d-8a98-639598090428\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[697,700,702],{"slug":698,"name":699},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":701,"name":299},"cathode",{"slug":703,"name":704},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":707,"name":707,"focus":707,"title":707,"source":707,"filename":708,"copyright":707,"fieldtype":709,"meta_data":710,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/550625d81e/bm-titanium-dioxide.jpg","asset",{"alt":707,"title":707,"source":707,"copyright":707},"Apr 16, 2021","16th April 2021",[],[],1792773934672]