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consolidation","opinion-grow-or-be-bought-livent-allkem-merger-sets-scene-for-industry-consolidation","article/opinion-grow-or-be-bought-livent-allkem-merger-sets-scene-for-industry-consolidation",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":562,"content":572,"excerpt":784,"featured":50,"reporter":785,"_editable":789,"component":790,"seo_title":543,"categories":791,"visibility":794,"author_company":795,"featured_image":796,"seo_description":784,"author_full_name":800,"author_job_title":801,"formattedDate":802,"formattedArticleDate":803},"b6cb9a9d-1b26-49bf-9016-bf8ab0a85d94","2023-05-12 00:00",[550,553,556,559],{"slug":551,"name":552},"allkem","Allkem",{"slug":554,"name":555},"livent","Livent",{"slug":557,"name":558},"ma","M&A",{"slug":560,"name":561},"opinion","Opinion",[563],{"slug":564,"name":565,"content":566},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":567,"image":568,"bio":570,"linkedin":571},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":569},"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":573,"content":574},"doc",[575,591,604,609,614,619,624,637,642,655,664,671,676,681,686,691,696,708,719,724,729,734,739,744,757,769,774,779],{"type":576,"attrs":577,"content":578},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[579,582,589],{"text":580,"type":581},"US lithium producer ","text",{"text":555,"type":581,"marks":583},[584],{"type":585,"attrs":586},"link",{"href":587,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/livent-and-allkem-merger-to-create-10-6-billion-lithium-producer","url",{"text":590,"type":581}," can trace its roots back to the 1940s. The company also supplied lithium to the first lithium ion battery produced by Sony in 1991. ",{"type":576,"attrs":592,"content":593},{"textAlign":49},[594,596,602],{"text":595,"type":581},"Yet in recent decades the company lost that considerable head start to more acquisitive Chinese companies, who didn’t even exist twenty years ago. Tianqi Lithium and ",{"text":597,"type":581,"marks":598},"Ganfeng Lithium",[599],{"type":585,"attrs":600},{"href":601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/we-believe-africa-will-be-the-next-good-opportunity-for-lithium-qa-with-wang-xiaoshen-of-ganfeng-lithium",{"text":603,"type":581}," are now the third and fourth largest, based on market capitalisation. Even Pilbara Minerals, which first produced spodumene in 2018, is valued at double what Livent is. ",{"type":576,"attrs":605,"content":606},{"textAlign":49},[607],{"text":608,"type":581},"As the larger automotive companies began to scale up their supply chains to back billions of dollars of investments into electric vehicles, that position was becoming untenable for Livent. ",{"type":576,"attrs":610,"content":611},{"textAlign":49},[612],{"text":613,"type":581},"The company had secured top-tier lithium hydroxide supply deals with Tesla, GM, BMW, and others, due to its long experience producing battery-grade products. But it lacked the scale and size to keep up with its customers, and also satisfy their needs to meet the requirements of the Inflation Reduction Act, whose subsidies mostly finish by the end of the decade. ",{"type":576,"attrs":615,"content":616},{"textAlign":49},[617],{"text":618,"type":581},"Paul Graves, the chief executive of Livent, has long coveted gaining access to an Australian hard rock resource as well as another project in Argentina, where the company has already been mining since 1998. ",{"type":576,"attrs":620,"content":621},{"textAlign":49},[622],{"text":623,"type":581},"Yet until now Livent has been on the sidelines. Ganfeng became the majority owner of the Cauchari lithium project in Argentina, which started production this year. And new players such as Rio Tinto have also entered the country, with deals to supply automakers. ",{"type":576,"attrs":625,"content":626},{"textAlign":49},[627,629,635],{"text":628,"type":581},"Even in lithium metal, which is used in future solid state batteries, Ganfeng has announced 7,000 tonnes per annum capacity expansions, but Livent has yet to announce any expansions, according to Benchmark’s ",{"text":630,"type":581,"marks":631},"Solid State Forecast",[632],{"type":585,"attrs":633},{"href":634,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/solid-state/",{"text":636,"type":581},". ",{"type":576,"attrs":638,"content":639},{"textAlign":49},[640],{"text":641,"type":581},"Facing a world where geopolitical tensions with China are only increasing, OEMs need to construct new supply chains at scale – and that requires investment in new projects fast. Either the lithium producers do it, or the automakers will do it themselves. ",{"type":576,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[645,647,653],{"text":646,"type":581},"Earlier this year General Motors, which entered a long-term lithium hydroxide deal with Livent last year, agreed to ",{"text":648,"type":581,"marks":649},"invest $650 million in Lithium Americas",[650],{"type":585,"attrs":651},{"href":652,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/this-is-going-to-represent-a-turning-point-qa-with-lithium-americas-ceo-jon-evans",{"text":654,"type":581},", highlighting the need for the automaker to secure supplies in North America. ",{"type":576,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"type":659,"attrs":660},"image",{"id":49,"alt":661,"src":662,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":663},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/7a1acfc746/bm-screenshot-2023-05-12-at-095817.png",{},{"type":665,"attrs":666,"content":668},"heading",{"level":667,"textAlign":49},4,[669],{"text":670,"type":581},"Automakers commit",{"type":576,"attrs":672,"content":673},{"textAlign":49},[674],{"text":675,"type":581},"In 2020 Graves said that “firmer long-term commitments” from customers are needed before “our industry can start to invest for growth again.”",{"type":576,"attrs":677,"content":678},{"textAlign":49},[679],{"text":680,"type":581},"Those commitments have now arrived. Last year Graves said that the company looked forward “to building a broad partnership that will support GM’s electric vehicle strategy, its supply chain goals and the future requirements of its growing EV fleet for reliable, high-performance lithium products.” ",{"type":576,"attrs":682,"content":683},{"textAlign":49},[684],{"text":685,"type":581},"But what kind of “partnership” can exist without growth in lithium supply? What kind of “long-term” can there be if you only have one project in Argentina? ",{"type":576,"attrs":687,"content":688},{"textAlign":49},[689],{"text":690,"type":581},"There is also only so much “partnership” talk that automakers can engage in without seeing the evidence of supply growth. ",{"type":576,"attrs":692,"content":693},{"textAlign":49},[694],{"text":695,"type":581},"They would rather not be forced to secure supplies from Chinese companies because of a failure of Western companies to expand in time. Who knows what relations with China will look like in five or ten years time?",{"type":576,"attrs":697,"content":698},{"textAlign":49},[699,701,707],{"text":700,"type":581},"Chinese companies are set to account for around half of lithium chemical supply this year, according to ",{"text":702,"type":581,"marks":703},"Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast",[704],{"type":585,"attrs":705},{"href":706,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/lithium/",{"text":636,"type":581},{"type":576,"attrs":709,"content":710},{"textAlign":49},[711,713,717],{"text":712,"type":581},"The ",{"text":552,"type":581,"marks":714},[715],{"type":585,"attrs":716},{"href":587,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},{"text":718,"type":581}," merger allows Livent to secure that future growth, via Allkem’s James Bay project in Quebec and Sal de Vida brine project in Argentina. ",{"type":576,"attrs":720,"content":721},{"textAlign":49},[722],{"text":723,"type":581},"Livent’s own Nemaska Lithium project in Quebec has already failed once under previous owners, and cannot go that way again. ",{"type":576,"attrs":725,"content":726},{"textAlign":49},[727],{"text":728,"type":581},"Automakers need to be assured that Livent will deliver on new growth projects, and this deal helps to secure that. ",{"type":576,"attrs":730,"content":731},{"textAlign":49},[732],{"text":733,"type":581},"In many ways it is also a survival deal for Livent and Allkem – at a market capitalization of around $5 billion each they faced the prospect of being acquired by someone else. ",{"type":576,"attrs":735,"content":736},{"textAlign":49},[737],{"text":738,"type":581},"The challenge now for the combined entity will be delivering on that promise to become the world’s third largest integrated producer by 2027, in an inflationary and uncertain global environment. ",{"type":576,"attrs":740,"content":741},{"textAlign":49},[742],{"text":743,"type":581},"A bigger balance sheet and shared expertise will help – but projects in Quebec, like all lithium projects, will still be hard. ",{"type":576,"attrs":745,"content":746},{"textAlign":49},[747,749,755],{"text":748,"type":581},"At the same time, ",{"text":750,"type":581,"marks":751},"Chinese investment in Africa",[752],{"type":585,"attrs":753},{"href":754,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/china-set-to-dominate-african-lithium-production-this-decade",{"text":756,"type":581}," as well as domestically will ensure a growing supply of lithium to Chinese rivals, who are also targeting expansion. ",{"type":576,"attrs":758,"content":759},{"textAlign":49},[760,762,767],{"text":761,"type":581},"Almost 90% of the 2030 supply from Africa is set to come from projects partly or fully owned by ",{"text":763,"type":581,"marks":764},"Chinese companies",[765],{"type":585,"attrs":766},{"href":601,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":588},{"text":768,"type":581},", according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast. ",{"type":576,"attrs":770,"content":771},{"textAlign":49},[772],{"text":773,"type":581},"Yes, automakers would prefer lithium from North America or safer jurisdictions with a higher ESG profile. But the higher priority is just securing supply so they can actually make electric vehicles, and not lose market share to Chinese EV exports, especially in Europe. ",{"type":576,"attrs":775,"content":776},{"textAlign":49},[777],{"text":778,"type":581},"Expect to see more deals as lithium producers enter growth mode – as highlighted by Albemarle’s bid for Liontown Resources, which was rejected by the company in March. ",{"type":576,"attrs":780,"content":781},{"textAlign":49},[782],{"text":783,"type":581},"The M&A boom that accompanied the “old economy” commodities of the mid-2000s may just be starting in lithium. ","US lithium producer Livent can trace its roots back to the 1940s. The company also supplied lithium to the first lithium ion battery produced by Sony in 1991. Yet in recent decades the company lost that considerable head start to more acquisitive Chinese companies, who didn’t even exist twenty years ago. Tianqi Lithium and Ganfeng […]",[786],{"slug":564,"name":565,"content":787},{"job_title":567,"image":788,"bio":570,"linkedin":571},{"filename":569},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b6cb9a9d-1b26-49bf-9016-bf8ab0a85d94\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[792],{"slug":793,"name":8},"lithium","private","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",{"id":49,"alt":661,"name":661,"focus":661,"title":661,"source":661,"filename":797,"copyright":661,"fieldtype":798,"meta_data":799,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8aaff897a8/bm-livent-argentina.png","asset",{"alt":661,"title":661,"source":661,"copyright":661},"Henry Sanderson","Executive Editor","May 12, 2023","12th May 2023",[],[],1781882623227]