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taps Australia for future lithium supply as prices hit record highs","tesla-taps-australia-for-future-lithium-supply-as-prices-hit-record-highs","article/tesla-taps-australia-for-future-lithium-supply-as-prices-hit-record-highs",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":566,"content":576,"excerpt":705,"featured":50,"reporter":706,"_editable":710,"component":711,"seo_title":553,"categories":712,"visibility":718,"author_company":49,"featured_image":719,"seo_description":705,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":724,"formattedArticleDate":725},"0c72a830-1a8b-4540-a853-09ed7377e68b","2022-03-04 00:00",[560,563],{"slug":561,"name":562},"australia","Australia",{"slug":564,"name":565},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",[567],{"slug":568,"name":569,"content":570},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":571,"image":572,"bio":574,"linkedin":575},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":573},"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":577,"content":578},"doc",[579,586,591,596,601,606,625,630,637,642,647,660,665,670,676,681,684,695,700],{"type":580,"attrs":581,"content":582},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[583],{"text":584,"type":585},"Tesla is locking in future supplies of lithium by betting on conventional spodumene mines in Australia coming into production over the next few years. ","text",{"type":580,"attrs":587,"content":588},{"textAlign":49},[589],{"text":590,"type":585},"The electric carmaker has signed two deals over the last month with Australian lithium project developers Liontown Resources and Core Lithium that will provide over 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) a year, according to Benchmark.",{"type":580,"attrs":592,"content":593},{"textAlign":49},[594],{"text":595,"type":585},"Tesla’s preference for traditional spodumene producers is a “relatively safe” bet according to Benchmark analyst Daisy Jennings-Gray.",{"type":580,"attrs":597,"content":598},{"textAlign":49},[599],{"text":600,"type":585},"The deals could provide the carmaker with guaranteed supplies of lithium ahead of its rivals. Tesla’s strategy is in contrast to that of General Motors and Volkswagen, who have signed agreements with lithium producers in Germany and the US that are using new direct-lithium extraction technologies rather than conventional processes. ",{"type":580,"attrs":602,"content":603},{"textAlign":49},[604],{"text":605,"type":585},"“A lot of OEMs have signed deals with prospective producers that are riding on more novel technologies,” Jennings-Gray said. ",{"type":580,"attrs":607,"content":608},{"textAlign":49},[609,611,619,621,623],{"text":610,"type":585},"These deals come as ",{"text":612,"type":585,"marks":613},"lithium prices continued their rise this month",[614],{"type":615,"attrs":616},"link",{"href":617,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rising-lithium-prices-push-lfp-battery-cell-costs-above-high-nickel","url",{"text":620,"type":585}," with Chinese domestic carbonate recording highs of $70,675 a tonne in the latest Lithium Price Assessment by Benchmark. ",{"text":622,"type":585},"Benchmark",{"text":624,"type":585}," anticipates that the shortage of mined lithium supply will nearly triple by 2023 to over 70,000 tonnes LCE. ",{"type":580,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":585},"Benchmark also predicts a deficit of 300,000 tonnes of LCE in 2030, highlighting the importance of securing future lithium supplies.",{"type":631,"attrs":632,"content":634},"heading",{"level":633,"textAlign":49},4,[635],{"text":636,"type":585},"TESLA BETS ON AUSSIE LITHIUM",{"type":580,"attrs":638,"content":639},{"textAlign":49},[640],{"text":641,"type":585},"Last month Liontown agreed to supply Tesla with 700,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate from its Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in Western Australia from 2024. The agreement commits Tesla to buying 100,000 tonnes in the first year, and 150,000 tonnes a year for four years after that.",{"type":580,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[645],{"text":646,"type":585},"Tesla’s deal with Core Lithium is lower volume, with up to 110,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate supplied over 4 years from the Finniss Lithium Project in Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territories.",{"type":580,"attrs":648,"content":649},{"textAlign":49},[650,652,658],{"text":651,"type":585},"Combined, these deals are roughly equivalent to 600,000 EVs, or just over one year of output at ",{"text":653,"type":585,"marks":654},"Tesla’s new Berlin factory",[655],{"type":615,"attrs":656},{"href":657,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-begins-shift-to-new-ev-battery-as-musk-expects-supply-chain-shortages-to-flip-from-chips-to-cells",{"text":659,"type":585},", which recently received conditional approval from Brandenburg state officials.",{"type":580,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":585},"Although VW and GM have chosen to back companies that claim their lithium is more ESG-friendly, Australian spodumene provides Tesla a surer supply of lithium in the near-term. “Supply of lithium feedstock is the bottleneck in the supply chain, given how long it takes to bring a lithium mine online.” Jennings-Gray says. “Getting spodumene supply guaranteed is putting a foot in the door before the raw material deficit worsens.”",{"type":631,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"level":633,"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":585},"AUSTRALIA’S PROCESSING FALLS SHORT",{"type":580,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673,674],{"text":622,"type":585},{"text":675,"type":585}," forecasts that spodumene supply from Australia will almost double from around 250,000 tonnes LCE in 2022 to nearly 440,000 tonnes LCE in 2030, maintaining its position as the world’s largest source of lithium feedstock supply.",{"type":580,"attrs":677,"content":678},{"textAlign":49},[679],{"text":680,"type":585},"But although Australia dominates the market for spodumene production, it has very little of its own capacity to process the feedstock into lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate. This processing capacity is almost entirely concentrated in China. As such, Chinese firms are continuing to sign offtake agreements with Australian spodumene producers.",{"type":580,"attrs":682,"content":683},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":580,"attrs":685,"content":686},{"textAlign":49},[687,693],{"text":688,"type":585,"marks":689},"Ganfeng",[690],{"type":615,"attrs":691},{"href":692,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":618},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-signs-three-year-lithium-supply-deal-with-chinas-ganfeng-lithium",{"text":694,"type":585}," and Yahua have both signed agreements with Core Lithium totalling 80% of the Finniss Lithium Project’s output for the first 4 years of its operation. Another Australian mining company, Global Lithium operating in Western Australia this week signed a 10-year deal for Chinese firm Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology (who own 9.4% of Global Lithium) to buy at least 30% (and up to 45%) of their spodumene concentrate each year.",{"type":580,"attrs":696,"content":697},{"textAlign":49},[698],{"text":699,"type":585},"Australian firms are looking to reduce China’s dominance in spodumene processing, however. This would allow Australia to add value domestically. However, Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast expects China to maintain its dominance despite efforts to develop processing capabilities in Australia and other regions.",{"type":580,"attrs":701,"content":702},{"textAlign":49},[703],{"text":704,"type":585},"As part of its deal with Core Lithium, Tesla agreed to support the development of lithium chemical processing capacity in the Northern Territories. Although not a common feature in offtake deals, it gives advantages to both parties: Core Lithium increases their domestic production capacity and Tesla diversifies their supply chain and reduces reliance on China, according to Jennings-Gray.","Tesla is locking in future supplies of lithium by betting on conventional spodumene mines in Australia coming into production over the next few years. The electric carmaker has signed two deals over the last month with Australian lithium project developers Liontown Resources and Core Lithium that will provide over 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent […]",[707],{"slug":568,"name":569,"content":708},{"job_title":571,"image":709,"bio":574,"linkedin":575},{"filename":573},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"0c72a830-1a8b-4540-a853-09ed7377e68b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[713,716],{"slug":714,"name":715},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":717,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":720,"name":720,"focus":720,"title":720,"source":720,"filename":721,"copyright":720,"fieldtype":722,"meta_data":723,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/468e52b5cf/bm-truck-carrying-australian-lithium.jpg","asset",{"alt":720,"title":720,"source":720,"copyright":720},"Mar 04, 2022","4th March 2022",[],[],1792773929337]