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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":709,"relatedVideos":710},112472974626468,"38b72b1b-d156-4c7d-a65b-4d4ede0eff6a","Rising lithium prices push LFP battery cell costs above high-nickel","rising-lithium-prices-push-lfp-battery-cell-costs-above-high-nickel","article/rising-lithium-prices-push-lfp-battery-cell-costs-above-high-nickel",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":558,"content":568,"excerpt":688,"featured":50,"reporter":689,"_editable":693,"component":694,"seo_title":543,"categories":695,"visibility":701,"author_company":49,"featured_image":702,"seo_description":688,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":707,"formattedArticleDate":708},"5ed81d66-52f7-4aea-8b5c-6a4f863ea75c","2022-02-09 00:00",[550,552,555],{"slug":551,"name":451},"lfp",{"slug":553,"name":554},"lithium-prices","Lithium prices",{"slug":556,"name":557},"ncm","NCM",[559],{"slug":560,"name":561,"content":562},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":563,"image":564,"bio":566,"linkedin":567},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":565},"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":569,"content":570},"doc",[571,588,593,606,611,616,629,636,641,646,651,656,668,673,678,683],{"type":572,"attrs":573,"content":574},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[575,578,586],{"text":576,"type":577},"Record high Chinese lithium carbonate prices have pushed the ","text",{"text":579,"type":577,"marks":580},"costs of lithium iron phosphate cells",[581],{"type":582,"attrs":583},"link",{"href":584,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":585},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-ion-battery-prices-rise-for-first-time-in-gigafactory-era-automakers-in-negotiations","url",{"text":587,"type":577}," above those using mostly nickel, in a reversal of a decade-long trend.",{"type":572,"attrs":589,"content":590},{"textAlign":49},[591],{"text":592,"type":577},"The costs of LFP cells are at least 5% higher than high-nickel cells, on a dollar per kilowatt-hour basis, according to Benchmark’s analysis, due to surging prices for lithium carbonate in China.",{"type":572,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596,598,604],{"text":597,"type":577},"The turnaround highlights the acute ",{"text":599,"type":577,"marks":600},"pricing pressures",[601],{"type":582,"attrs":602},{"href":603,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":585},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-prices-to-push-up-lfp-electric-vehicle-batteries-by-16-in-2022",{"text":605,"type":577}," facing producers of LFP battery cells in China, which could translate into higher prices for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.",{"type":572,"attrs":607,"content":608},{"textAlign":49},[609],{"text":610,"type":577},"The use of LFP batteries, which contain no cobalt or nickel, has been pioneered by Chinese electric car maker BYD and battery producer CATL, whose batteries have enabled cheaper electric vehicles for the Chinese market. In 2020 Tesla started using LFP cells in their standard range Model 3 vehicles produced in China.",{"type":572,"attrs":612,"content":613},{"textAlign":49},[614],{"text":615,"type":577},"LFP cells have also become the standard choice for large energy storage batteries used to store energy from wind and solar power.",{"type":572,"attrs":617,"content":618},{"textAlign":49},[619,621,627],{"text":620,"type":577},"But much of the Chinese supply chain for LFP is now exposed to shorter-term lithium carbonate prices, which have skyrocketed. Chinese",{"text":622,"type":577,"marks":623}," battery-grade lithium carbonate prices",[624],{"type":582,"attrs":625},{"href":626,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":585},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-battery-grade-lithium-prices-surge-21-in-first-half-of-january-battery-makers-move-to-secure-supplies",{"text":628,"type":577}," have risen by 479% over the past year to a record high average of RMB 348,500 a tonne ($54,725), putting increased pressure on LFP cell prices.",{"type":630,"attrs":631,"content":633},"heading",{"level":632,"textAlign":49},4,[634],{"text":635,"type":577},"No longer dirt cheap",{"type":572,"attrs":637,"content":638},{"textAlign":49},[639],{"text":640,"type":577},"In contrast, higher-nickel battery cells produced by Korean and Japanese battery producers are more tied to longer-term lithium hydroxide prices outside of China.",{"type":572,"attrs":642,"content":643},{"textAlign":49},[644],{"text":645,"type":577},"Average pricing for each of Benchmark’s ex-China lithium hydroxide grades is trading at $29,500/tonne, ranging between $15,000/tonne under contracts at the lower end of the range and $44,000/tonne for spot market transactions at the upper end of trading.",{"type":572,"attrs":647,"content":648},{"textAlign":49},[649],{"text":650,"type":577},"That’s made LFP cells around 5% more expensive than high nickel NCM 811 battery cells which use lithium hydroxide, according to Benchmark. In the past LFP cells were up to 20% cheaper than high nickel battery cells.",{"type":630,"attrs":652,"content":653},{"level":632,"textAlign":49},[654],{"text":655,"type":577},"BYD raises prices",{"type":572,"attrs":657,"content":658},{"textAlign":49},[659,661,666],{"text":660,"type":577},"This month BYD",{"text":662,"type":577,"marks":663}," raised prices",[664],{"type":582,"attrs":665},{"href":584,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":585},{"text":667,"type":577}," for some models by an extra Rmb 1,000 to Rmb 7,000 due in part to higher raw material prices. CATL is also said to be passing on the higher lithium costs to its customers, according to Benchmark.",{"type":572,"attrs":669,"content":670},{"textAlign":49},[671],{"text":672,"type":577},"In contrast to lithium, which is facing a growing shortage of supply, the nickel market is likely to be well supplied this year, as Chinese-backed processing projects in Indonesia start production. Chinese nickel sulphate prices have risen by 17% over the past year, according to Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment.",{"type":572,"attrs":674,"content":675},{"textAlign":49},[676],{"text":677,"type":577},"China’s GEM Co, a leading produer of high nickel battery materials, said on Wednesday that its project to produce 60,000 tonnes of nickel metal in Indonesia would start in the first half of this year. Along with supply of metal from recycled batteries as well as existing nickel producers, the company said it had enough supply to meet demand for its products this year.",{"type":572,"attrs":679,"content":680},{"textAlign":49},[681],{"text":682,"type":577},"Still, the cost benefits of lithium hydroxide could also narrow as long-term contracts catch up to the spot lithium price. In addition, there are other benefits to LFP that are likely to make it a popular choice for automakers. LFP cells typically can have a longer cycle life and lack the stability issues associated with some other cathode chemistries.",{"type":572,"attrs":684,"content":685},{"textAlign":49},[686],{"text":687,"type":577},"CATL and BYD have also managed to increase the amount of energy LFP batteries can store by reducing the amount of packaging in the battery pack, something enabled by the greater safety of LFP cells.","Record high Chinese lithium carbonate prices have pushed the costs of lithium iron phosphate cells above those using mostly nickel, in a reversal of a decade-long trend. The costs of LFP cells are at least 5% higher than high-nickel cells, on a dollar per kilowatt-hour basis, according to Benchmark’s analysis, due to surging prices for […]",[690],{"slug":560,"name":561,"content":691},{"job_title":563,"image":692,"bio":566,"linkedin":567},{"filename":565},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5ed81d66-52f7-4aea-8b5c-6a4f863ea75c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[696,699],{"slug":697,"name":698},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":700,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":703,"name":703,"focus":703,"title":703,"source":703,"filename":704,"copyright":703,"fieldtype":705,"meta_data":706,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d7b03578d8/bm-shutterstock-20731051461.jpg","asset",{"alt":703,"title":703,"source":703,"copyright":703},"Feb 09, 2022","9th February 2022",[],[],1787672756230]