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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":862,"relatedVideos":863},112470962620611,"37a45dd3-caad-4511-b3ad-05f9972641d6","Phosphate concerns drive Chinese battery investments in Morocco","phosphate-concerns-drive-chinese-battery-investments-in-morocco","article/phosphate-concerns-drive-chinese-battery-investments-in-morocco",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":579,"content":589,"excerpt":830,"featured":51,"reporter":831,"_editable":835,"component":836,"seo_title":543,"categories":837,"visibility":854,"author_company":49,"featured_image":855,"seo_description":830,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":860,"formattedArticleDate":861},"6930ee8d-f804-4a0f-a57a-b4ffa46d15cf","2023-08-04 00:00",[550,553,556,559,562,565,568,570,573,576],{"slug":551,"name":552},"africa","Africa",{"slug":554,"name":555},"cells","Cells",{"slug":557,"name":558},"china","China",{"slug":560,"name":561},"europe","Europe",{"slug":563,"name":564},"gotion","Gotion",{"slug":566,"name":567},"guangzhou-tinci-materials","Guangzhou Tinci Materials",{"slug":569,"name":451},"lfp",{"slug":571,"name":572},"morocco","Morocco",{"slug":574,"name":575},"north-africa","North Africa",{"slug":577,"name":578},"yahua-industrial-group","Yahua Industrial Group",[580],{"slug":581,"name":582,"content":583},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":584,"image":585,"bio":587,"linkedin":588},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":586},"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":590,"content":591},"doc",[592,609,614,627,640,645,650,655,660,665,670,679,686,699,704,709,714,719,724,729,734,739,744,749,754,759,770,775,780,785,790,795,800,805,810,815,820,825],{"type":593,"attrs":594,"content":595},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[596,599,607],{"text":597,"type":598},"Concerns about access to phosphate, a mineral input for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery ","text",{"text":600,"type":598,"marks":601},"cathodes",[602],{"type":603,"attrs":604},"link",{"href":605,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":606},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cathode/","url",{"text":608,"type":598},", are driving Chinese battery producers to invest in Morocco, where 70% of the known global rock phosphate reserves are located. ",{"type":593,"attrs":610,"content":611},{"textAlign":49},[612],{"text":613,"type":598},"Cell maker Gotion High Tech and battery chemicals producers Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group and Guangzhou Tinci Materials have all announced plans to build cell or battery chemical facilities in the north African country this year. ",{"type":593,"attrs":615,"content":616},{"textAlign":49},[617,619,625],{"text":618,"type":598},"China will produce around 99% of this year’s ",{"text":620,"type":598,"marks":621},"global supply",[622],{"type":603,"attrs":623},{"href":624,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":606},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-chinas-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-dominance",{"text":626,"type":598}," of LFP cells, according to Benchmark. The cathodes of LFPs contain phosphate in the form of iron phosphate, a material which makes up 95.6% of the cathode’s total mass. ",{"type":593,"attrs":628,"content":629},{"textAlign":49},[630,632,638],{"text":631,"type":598},"With inputs that are cheaper than cobalt and nickel, ",{"text":633,"type":598,"marks":634},"LFP battery cells",[635],{"type":603,"attrs":636},{"href":637,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":606},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-rise-of-lfp-batteries-outside-of-china",{"text":639,"type":598}," are a cost-effective alternative to NCA and NCM battery cell chemistries. However, certain producers are nervous that phosphate supplies could become more pressured, according to Benchmark analyst Albert Li.",{"type":593,"attrs":641,"content":642},{"textAlign":49},[643],{"text":644,"type":598},"Phosphate’s biggest end use is as an ingredient for crop fertiliser. With the Ukraine war disrupting trade in agricultural commodities, LFP producers may find themselves having to compete harder with the fertiliser industry for the mineral. ",{"type":593,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"textAlign":49},[648],{"text":649,"type":598},"The biggest Chinese lithium ion investment into Morocco this year came in June from Gotion. The company, which mainly manufactures LFPs, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Moroccan government to build a $6.5 billion for a 100 gigawatt hour (GWh) electric vehicle battery plant in the country. It would become Africa’s first cell project and Gotion’s largest cell plant by capacity.",{"type":593,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":598},"In late June, battery chemicals producer Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology announced it would build a MAD 2.8 billion ($282 million) EV battery materials plant in Morocco. In April, South Korea’s LG Energy Solution signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China’s Yahua Industrial Group to set up a lithium hydroxide plant in the north African country.  ",{"type":593,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":598},"According to Li, the new projects will almost certainly source lithium from Chinese mines around the African continent.",{"type":593,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":598},"Another draw of Morocco are its free trade agreements with the EU and the US.",{"type":593,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":598},"“Morocco is a key producer and has an FTA with the US. It can leverage its position across different geographies and different markets,” said Benchmark consultant Manish Dua.",{"type":593,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"type":674,"attrs":675},"image",{"id":49,"alt":676,"src":677,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":678},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/8b0244c6a6/bm-lfp-cathode.jpg",{},{"type":680,"attrs":681,"content":683},"heading",{"level":682,"textAlign":49},4,[684],{"text":685,"type":598},"Rising prices and limited reserves",{"type":593,"attrs":687,"content":688},{"textAlign":49},[689,691,697],{"text":690,"type":598},"China’s LFP cathode production ",{"text":692,"type":598,"marks":693},"rose 147% year-on-year",[694],{"type":603,"attrs":695},{"href":696,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":606},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-lfp-cathode-prices-hit-17-month-low-as-producers-cut-prices-due-to-weak-demand",{"text":698,"type":598}," in 2022 but its domestic phosphate reserves may not be enough to sustain this growth longer term. The country is the world’s biggest phosphate rock producer but holds only 5% of the global reserve in the mineral. ",{"type":593,"attrs":700,"content":701},{"textAlign":49},[702],{"text":703,"type":598},"Chinese actors are also aware of the possibility that Morocco may decide to lean its phosphate exports towards agriculture, as global prices for phosphate fertilisers climb in the wake of the Ukraine war, according to Benchmark analyst Li.  ",{"type":593,"attrs":705,"content":706},{"textAlign":49},[707],{"text":708,"type":598},"By operating within Morocco, Chinese companies would bypass potential Moroccan export restrictions on phosphates. These could follow a similar model to Indonesia’s nickel ban, where raw materials extracted in the country must also be processed there. ",{"type":593,"attrs":710,"content":711},{"textAlign":49},[712],{"text":713,"type":598},"Worries that Morocco could take its phosphate off the international market are not unfounded. China itself began restricting exports of phosphate products in 2021 in order to lower prices and ensure food security. ",{"type":593,"attrs":715,"content":716},{"textAlign":49},[717],{"text":718,"type":598},"In addition, food security measures by Morocco could restrict Chinese industry access to phosphates. Morocco’s wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia fell from 24% to 3% in 2022 after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, raising the likelihood it may divert phosphate towards fertiliser for domestic food production. ",{"type":593,"attrs":720,"content":721},{"textAlign":49},[722],{"text":723,"type":598},"The Moroccan prime minister stated in parliament that his government was working to achieve national food sovereignty in the face of inflation, energy and raw material price rises, and disruption to global supply chains. ",{"type":593,"attrs":725,"content":726},{"textAlign":49},[727],{"text":728,"type":598},"In late 2022, the state owned phosphate miner OCP Group launched a $13 billion strategy in 2022 to raise its fertiliser production capacity from 12 million tonnes today to 20 million tonnes by 2027.",{"type":593,"attrs":730,"content":731},{"textAlign":49},[732],{"text":733,"type":598},"OCP’s Group’s strategy, which acknowledged the challenge of striking a balance between phosphate use in agriculture and new industries, also outlined a target of producing 20, 000 tonnes of fluorine and 30, 000 tonnes of intermediate products for LFP batteries by 2027.",{"type":593,"attrs":735,"content":736},{"textAlign":49},[737],{"text":738,"type":598},"Owning Moroccan capacity would also allow Chinese battery makers to avoid potential regulatory clampdown on industrial phosphate use, which is causing severe environmental pollution in China.",{"type":680,"attrs":740,"content":741},{"level":682,"textAlign":49},[742],{"text":743,"type":598},"A gateway to western markets",{"type":593,"attrs":745,"content":746},{"textAlign":49},[747],{"text":748,"type":598},"Morocco’s geographic and political proximity to Western markets makes it strategically valuable for Chinese producers wanting to establish mid- to downstream facilities overseas.",{"type":593,"attrs":750,"content":751},{"textAlign":49},[752],{"text":753,"type":598},"First are the obvious logistical efficiencies that come with building supply chains nearer to the European continent. Further, Morocco’s free trade agreements with the EU and US could also place Chinese manufacturers in line for Western green industrial subsidies designed to encourage more battery materials from outside China.",{"type":593,"attrs":755,"content":756},{"textAlign":49},[757],{"text":758,"type":598},"Yet manufacturing in Morocco could have drawbacks compared to China.",{"type":593,"attrs":760,"content":761},{"textAlign":49},[762,764,768],{"text":763,"type":598},"“Like all the other projects outside China, comparing with China, Morocco has higher labour costs, less developed infrastructure, high environmental standards, and industrial chain disadvantages – in ",{"text":558,"type":598,"marks":765},[766],{"type":603,"attrs":767},{"href":624,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":606},{"text":769,"type":598},", cathode, anode, graphite, lithium, cobalt, and battery production might be in the same area,” said Benchmark analyst Li.",{"type":680,"attrs":771,"content":772},{"level":682,"textAlign":49},[773],{"text":774,"type":598},"China-Morocco relations",{"type":593,"attrs":776,"content":777},{"textAlign":49},[778],{"text":779,"type":598},"Chinese investments to Morocco are being underpinned by strong diplomatic relations between China and Morocco.",{"type":593,"attrs":781,"content":782},{"textAlign":49},[783],{"text":784,"type":598},"Gotion signed its memorandum of understanding at the Gitex Africa tech startup event in June with Morocco’s delegate minister for investment, Mohcine Jazouli, who earlier this year visited China to encourage investments into his country.",{"type":593,"attrs":786,"content":787},{"textAlign":49},[788],{"text":789,"type":598},"Morocco and China’s economic ties intensified in 2016, when the King Mohammed VI of Morocco visited China to secure a strategic partnership between the nations. ",{"type":593,"attrs":791,"content":792},{"textAlign":49},[793],{"text":794,"type":598},"In 2022, Morocco deepened its cooperation with China by becoming the first North African country to sign an agreement to implement the Belt and Road Initiative. ",{"type":680,"attrs":796,"content":797},{"level":682,"textAlign":49},[798],{"text":799,"type":598},"Yahua selects Morocco for first plant abroad",{"type":593,"attrs":801,"content":802},{"textAlign":49},[803],{"text":804,"type":598},"Yahua and LG Energy Solutions’ lithium hydroxide plant in Morocco would become Yahua’s first battery chemicals plant outside of China. Capacity has not yet been announced. ",{"type":593,"attrs":806,"content":807},{"textAlign":49},[808],{"text":809,"type":598},"Yahua is a major supplier of Tesla. The group is also developing the Damaraland pegmatite lithium mine in Western Namibia. ",{"type":680,"attrs":811,"content":812},{"level":682,"textAlign":49},[813],{"text":814,"type":598},"Tinci continues foreign expansion",{"type":593,"attrs":816,"content":817},{"textAlign":49},[818],{"text":819,"type":598},"Tinci’s planned Moroccan plant will be developed by its Singapore unit. In its company statement, Tinci cited Morocco’s phosphorite ore resources and the country’s access to the European market as factors in its investment. ",{"type":593,"attrs":821,"content":822},{"textAlign":49},[823],{"text":824,"type":598},"Tinci specialises in battery electrolytes. It also produces LFP cathodes in China.",{"type":593,"attrs":826,"content":827},{"textAlign":49},[828],{"text":829,"type":598},"Tinci’s Moroccan plant announcement came as it had already started feasibility and environment impact assessment studies for its 200, 000 tonne capacity lithium battery electrolyte factory in Texas, USA.","Concerns about access to phosphate, a mineral input for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cathodes, are driving Chinese battery producers to invest in Morocco, where 70% of the known global rock phosphate reserves are located. Cell maker Gotion High Tech and battery chemicals producers Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group and Guangzhou Tinci Materials have all announced […]",[832],{"slug":581,"name":582,"content":833},{"job_title":584,"image":834,"bio":587,"linkedin":588},{"filename":586},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6930ee8d-f804-4a0f-a57a-b4ffa46d15cf\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[838,841,843,846,848,851],{"slug":839,"name":840},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":842,"name":298},"cathode",{"slug":844,"name":845},"geopolitics","Geopolitics",{"slug":847,"name":8},"lithium",{"slug":849,"name":850},"manganese","Manganese",{"slug":852,"name":853},"phosphate","Phosphate","private",{"id":49,"alt":856,"name":676,"focus":676,"title":856,"source":676,"filename":857,"copyright":676,"fieldtype":858,"meta_data":859,"is_external_url":51},"An aerial view of an open pit phosphate mine","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/fc08177220/bm-shutterstock-175148927-1303816d8d2b.jpg","asset",{"alt":856,"title":856,"source":676,"copyright":676},"Aug 04, 2023","4th August 2023",[],[],1784134970512]