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battery grade lithium carbonate prices surge 68% in first 2 months of 2021","chinese-battery-grade-lithium-carbonate-prices-surge-68-in-first-2-months-of-2021","article/chinese-battery-grade-lithium-carbonate-prices-surge-68-in-first-2-months-of-2021",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":563,"content":573,"excerpt":641,"featured":50,"reporter":642,"_editable":646,"component":647,"seo_title":553,"categories":648,"visibility":654,"author_company":49,"featured_image":655,"seo_description":641,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":660,"formattedArticleDate":661},"c7570d0d-bdd8-4056-aeb5-f6f12a92148f","2021-03-04 00:00",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562},"lithium-prices","Lithium prices",[564],{"slug":565,"name":566,"content":567},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":568,"image":569,"bio":571,"linkedin":572},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":570},"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":574,"content":575},"doc",[576,587,596,601,616,621,626,631,636],{"type":577,"attrs":578,"content":579},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[580,583,585],{"text":581,"type":582},"Battery grade lithium carbonate prices (","text",{"text":584,"type":582},"Benchmark Lithium Carbonate, Battery Grade, EXW China, ≥99.5% Li2CO3",{"text":586,"type":582},") increased by 68% in the first 2 months of 2021 in China on the back of high battery demand, particularly for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode, and a slower-than-anticipated transition to high nickel chemistries.",{"type":577,"attrs":588,"content":589},{"textAlign":49},[590,592,594],{"text":591,"type":582},"Surging Chinese lithium carbonate prices, which now hold a premium over hydroxide prices for the first time since April 2018, helped push the ",{"text":593,"type":582},"Benchmark Lithium Price Index ",{"text":595,"type":582},"up by 14.4% in February 2021, its second largest move on record after January 2021.",{"type":577,"attrs":597,"content":598},{"textAlign":49},[599],{"text":600,"type":582},"Due to the slow roll out of higher nickel cathode chemistries, NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) cathode production for the EV supply chain remains focused on NCM 523, which in combination with strong LFP demand, has helped to sustain higher levels of demand for lithium carbonate in China.",{"type":577,"attrs":602,"content":603},{"textAlign":49},[604,606,614],{"text":605,"type":582},"Although the greatest price increases have been mostly constrained to Chinese lithium carbonate, ",{"text":607,"type":582,"marks":608},"Benchmark’s global weighted average lithium hydroxide prices",[609],{"type":610,"attrs":611},"link",{"href":612,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":613},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/#lithium","url",{"text":615,"type":582}," up 8% year-to-date as prices have increased this year on the back of improving EV demand sentiments.",{"type":577,"attrs":617,"content":618},{"textAlign":49},[619],{"text":620,"type":582},"In fact, all 11 of Benchmark’s lithium prices registered increases in February 2021 as producers of both spodumene and lithium chemicals worldwide have begun to sell out inventories and fill order books through until the end of Q2 2021. While large price rises have so far been limited to China, pricing in the rest of the world has begun to move upwards towards Chinese levels with ex-Chinese carbonate prices up by an average of 17.1% in February.",{"type":577,"attrs":622,"content":623},{"textAlign":49},[624],{"text":625,"type":582},"With demand from China continuing to mount lithium producers have doubled down on raising finance to support expansions, anticipating further demand increases. In the past month Albemarle undertook a $1.5 billion public equity offering and SQM’s board approved a $700 million investment decision to develop the Mt Holland project jointly owned by Wesfarmers.",{"type":577,"attrs":627,"content":628},{"textAlign":49},[629],{"text":630,"type":582},"While lithium’s majors are beginning to reengage in expansion plans, three years of falling lithium prices have failed to incentivise sufficient investment into the supply chain, leading to greater risks of price volatility as battery demand ramps up.",{"type":577,"attrs":632,"content":633},{"textAlign":49},[634],{"text":635,"type":582},"The growing emphasis on a green economic recovery in Europe, which saw EV sales increase 42.5% in January 2021 compared with 2020, and North America, and with China continuing to rapidly electrify, it is becoming increasingly apparent that there is a sustained increase in EV demand following COVID-19.",{"type":577,"attrs":637,"content":638},{"textAlign":49},[639],{"text":640,"type":582},"With battery raw material prices accounting for a greater proportion of lithium ion cell production costs, battery and automakers should be watching lithium’s new price environment closely.","Battery grade lithium carbonate prices (Benchmark Lithium Carbonate, Battery Grade, EXW China, ≥99.5% Li2CO3) increased by 68% in the first 2 months of 2021 in China on the back of high battery demand, particularly for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode, and a slower-than-anticipated transition to high nickel chemistries. Surging Chinese lithium carbonate prices, which now […]",[643],{"slug":565,"name":566,"content":644},{"job_title":568,"image":645,"bio":571,"linkedin":572},{"filename":570},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"c7570d0d-bdd8-4056-aeb5-f6f12a92148f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[649,652],{"slug":650,"name":651},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":653,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":656,"name":656,"focus":656,"title":656,"source":656,"filename":657,"copyright":656,"fieldtype":658,"meta_data":659,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/60bb1fd64d/bm-benchmark-lithium-prices-feb-2021-2-1.png","asset",{"alt":656,"title":656,"source":656,"copyright":656},"Mar 04, 2021","4th March 2021",[],[],1792688592125]