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faces battery supply chain challenges amid global competition","uk-faces-battery-supply-chain-challenges-amid-global-competition","article/uk-faces-battery-supply-chain-challenges-amid-global-competition",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":569,"content":579,"excerpt":930,"featured":51,"reporter":931,"_editable":935,"component":936,"seo_title":553,"categories":937,"visibility":953,"author_company":49,"data_vis_image":954,"featured_image":959,"seo_description":930,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":962,"formattedArticleDate":963},"24cacba6-84e8-4314-8181-64b70aeda458","2023-11-08 00:00",[560,563,566],{"slug":561,"name":562},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",{"slug":564,"name":565},"uk","UK",{"slug":567,"name":568},"policy","Policy",[570],{"slug":571,"name":572,"content":573},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":574,"image":575,"bio":577,"linkedin":578},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":576},"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":580,"content":581},"doc",[582,589,604,617,622,627,632,637,644,649,654,659,664,677,682,687,692,704,713,718,723,728,733,738,751,756,769,774,779,784,789,794,799,807,812,817,822,827,832,837,842,847,852,857,862,867,872,877,882,887,900,905,910,915,920,925],{"type":583,"attrs":584,"content":585},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[586],{"text":587,"type":588},"Investment in the UK battery supply chain has picked up this year, backed by renewed government attention and a number of company announcements. But can the country scale fast enough to remain relevant on the global stage?","text",{"type":583,"attrs":590,"content":591},{"textAlign":49},[592,594,602],{"text":593,"type":588},"The government of prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced a number of critical mineral agreements this year, including with Japan, Zambia, and Canada. And in July Tata, the Indian owner of Jaguar Land Rover, agreed to build a £4 billion ($5.2 billion) ",{"text":595,"type":588,"marks":596},"battery gigafactory in Somerset",[597],{"type":598,"attrs":599},"link",{"href":600,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":601},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tata-jaguar-land-rover-gigafactory-more-than-doubles-uk-pipeline-capacity","url",{"text":603,"type":588},", in a boost to the UK’s electric vehicle industry.",{"type":583,"attrs":605,"content":606},{"textAlign":49},[607,609,615],{"text":608,"type":588},"Yet the UK still lacks enough battery capacity to meet the demand of its automotive industry, as well as supplies of midstream materials such as cathode and anode. In addition, it also faces regulatory challenges to export electric vehicles to the European Union under ",{"text":610,"type":588,"marks":611},"post-Brexit trading arrangements",[612],{"type":598,"attrs":613},{"href":614,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":601},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cathode-supply-poses-problems-for-post-brexit-ev-trade-rules",{"text":616,"type":588},". ",{"type":583,"attrs":618,"content":619},{"textAlign":49},[620],{"text":621,"type":588},"That could leave the UK heavily reliant on China, which produces over 80% of batteries globally, as assessed by Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database, and dominates the processing of critical raw materials. Chinese electric vehicles are also starting to make inroads into the UK market. ",{"type":583,"attrs":623,"content":624},{"textAlign":49},[625],{"text":626,"type":588},"“I think the reality is, regardless of which market you’re in, to have one country having 80% of the market isn’t healthy,” Nusrat Ghani, Minister of State at the UK’s Department for Business and Trade, told Benchmark Source. “It’s imperative that we diversify our supply chain.”",{"type":583,"attrs":628,"content":629},{"textAlign":49},[630],{"text":631,"type":588},"To others, however, the UK is behind its Western allies in encouraging its own domestic industry, as it lacks the government financial support found in the US Inflation Reduction Act.",{"type":583,"attrs":633,"content":634},{"textAlign":49},[635],{"text":636,"type":588},"“We [the UK] are very late to the party,” Jeremy Wrathall, the chief executive of lithium developer Cornish Lithium, said to Benchmark Source. “It’s only when the IRA came along, and the EU critical raw materials act, that Britain finally woke up.”",{"type":638,"attrs":639,"content":641},"heading",{"level":640,"textAlign":49},4,[642],{"text":643,"type":588},"Sunak’s delayed EV target ",{"type":583,"attrs":645,"content":646},{"textAlign":49},[647],{"text":648,"type":588},"By 2035 all new car sales in the UK must be zero emission. ",{"type":583,"attrs":650,"content":651},{"textAlign":49},[652],{"text":653,"type":588},"This target was originally 2030, though Rishi Sunak, the current UK prime minister, pushed it back saying this put the UK in line with other countries such as France and Germany. ",{"type":583,"attrs":655,"content":656},{"textAlign":49},[657],{"text":658,"type":588},"As part of the announcement of the 2035 target, Sunak’s government also set out the UK’s zero emissions vehicle mandate.",{"type":583,"attrs":660,"content":661},{"textAlign":49},[662],{"text":663,"type":588},"This states 22% of new cars must be zero emission from next year, gradually rising to 80% of new cars (and 70% of new vans) by 2030 and 100% by 2035 which the UK says is in line with other countries such as France and Germany.",{"type":583,"attrs":665,"content":666},{"textAlign":49},[667,669,675],{"text":668,"type":588},"To meet at least some of this demand domestically requires an extensive supply chain. The UK could need up to ",{"text":670,"type":588,"marks":671},"three to four supersized gigafactories",[672],{"type":598,"attrs":673},{"href":674,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":601},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/uk-strategy-needs-to-align-with-battery-ambitions",{"text":676,"type":588}," by 2030 to meet the growing demand. These will need to be fed with anode and cathode material from a currently non-existent UK production base.",{"type":583,"attrs":678,"content":679},{"textAlign":49},[680],{"text":681,"type":588},"So far, the UK is falling far short of meeting those targets. ",{"type":638,"attrs":683,"content":684},{"level":640,"textAlign":49},[685],{"text":686,"type":588},"Battery shortage",{"type":583,"attrs":688,"content":689},{"textAlign":49},[690],{"text":691,"type":588},"The UK currently has just 1.9 gigawatt hours of gigafactory capacity, entirely from the Envision AESC plant in Sunderland in the northeast of England. A second plant is set to be built by Envision and Nissan due to begin operations in 2025 with 12 GWh of capacity, eventually rising to 30 GWh.",{"type":583,"attrs":693,"content":694},{"textAlign":49},[695,697,702],{"text":696,"type":588},"India’s Tata will build a ",{"text":698,"type":588,"marks":699},"40 GWh gigafactory in Somerset in the southwest of England",[700],{"type":598,"attrs":701},{"href":600,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":601},{"text":703,"type":588},". The facility is due to begin operations in 2026 and will supply Jaguar Land Rover, also owned by Tata. The site may also rely on Envision for battery technology, according to media reports.",{"type":583,"attrs":705,"content":706},{"textAlign":49},[707],{"type":708,"attrs":709},"image",{"id":49,"alt":710,"src":711,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":712},"UK Gigafactory pipeline to reach 66.9 GWh by 2030","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1edd4808ee/bm-uk-gigafactory-capacity-oct-2023-1.png",{},{"type":583,"attrs":714,"content":715},{"textAlign":49},[716],{"text":717,"type":588},"The West Midlands Gigafactory in Coventry is a site with the planning permission to house a 60 GWh facility. As yet no battery maker has invested in the site, though Jim O’Boyle, a councillor in the Coventry City Council, said in a statement that they were in “advanced discussions with leading Asian battery manufacturers who want to develop a presence in the UK.”",{"type":583,"attrs":719,"content":720},{"textAlign":49},[721],{"text":722,"type":588},"All told, the UK currently has only 66.9 GWh of capacity in the pipeline for 2030, enough for around 1.2 million electric vehicles a year if operated at full capacity, according to Luke Gear, an analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":638,"attrs":724,"content":725},{"level":640,"textAlign":49},[726],{"text":727,"type":588},"Critical minerals at home and abroad",{"type":583,"attrs":729,"content":730},{"textAlign":49},[731],{"text":732,"type":588},"For critical minerals, the UK is most advanced in lithium, and is set to produce 28,000 tonnes LCE of lithium chemicals by 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast.",{"type":583,"attrs":734,"content":735},{"textAlign":49},[736],{"text":737,"type":588},"The UK is home to Europe’s only lithium refiner outside of Russia: Leverton Lithium. They produce lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, though at a relatively small scale and most of this is destined for non-battery applications. They have a JV with Germany’s Helm AG to build a refinery to produce battery grade lithium in the UK towards the end of the decade.",{"type":583,"attrs":739,"content":740},{"textAlign":49},[741,743,749],{"text":742,"type":588},"Several other companies are hoping to build lithium refineries in the UK with ",{"text":744,"type":588,"marks":745},"Green Lithium",[746],{"type":598,"attrs":747},{"href":748,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":601},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/the-missing-middle-uks-first-lithium-refinery-highlights-need-for-domestic-battery-materials",{"text":750,"type":588}," and Tees Valley Lithium looking to Teeside in the North East of England.",{"type":583,"attrs":752,"content":753},{"textAlign":49},[754],{"text":755,"type":588},"“Producing in the UK offers some of the lowest operational costs, meaning we are able to weather price fluctuations like those we see today,” Richard Taylor, co-founder of UK-based lithium aspirant Green Lithium, said. “The UK also has one of the strongest and most skilled labour forces.”",{"type":583,"attrs":757,"content":758},{"textAlign":49},[759,761,767],{"text":760,"type":588},"Further upstream, Cornish Lithium and ",{"text":762,"type":588,"marks":763},"British Lithium are looking to extract lithium in Cornwall",[764],{"type":598,"attrs":765},{"href":766,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":601},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/uk-set-to-begin-lithium-mining-as-frances-imerys-agrees-deal-with-british-lithium",{"text":768,"type":588}," in the Southwest of the country and Northern Lithium have plans in County Durham in the North East.",{"type":583,"attrs":770,"content":771},{"textAlign":49},[772],{"text":773,"type":588},"Still, the government needs to do more to support critical mineral mining and processing, however, according to Jeremy Wrathall, chief executive of Cornish Lithium. ",{"type":583,"attrs":775,"content":776},{"textAlign":49},[777],{"text":778,"type":588},"“There is very, very little–pitifully little–[money for] the primary raw materials,” Wrathall said, emphasising that they are grateful for the support they have got. “I think the realisation has dawned that without the raw materials, you’ve got nothing.”",{"type":583,"attrs":780,"content":781},{"textAlign":49},[782],{"text":783,"type":588},"Cornish Lithium recently secured £24 million ($30 million) in equity financing from the UK Infrastructure Bank, which is backed by the UK Treasury and was set up to fulfil the role of the European Investment Bank post-Brexit.",{"type":583,"attrs":785,"content":786},{"textAlign":49},[787],{"text":788,"type":588},"Projects like Cornish Lithium and Green Lithium have also received small amounts from the £850 million ($1 billion) Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) which aims to develop an end-to-end supply chain for electric vehicles in the UK.",{"type":583,"attrs":790,"content":791},{"textAlign":49},[792],{"text":793,"type":588},"“R&D funding has been really instrumental in creating a real focused effort within the UK to develop technology and innovation in this space,” Ian Constance, the chief executive of the Advanced Propulsion Centre which runs the ATF, told Benchmark Source. “But to build the supply chain at scale, we need to do more than just the R&D–we actually have to put capital on the table.”",{"type":583,"attrs":795,"content":796},{"textAlign":49},[797],{"text":798,"type":588},"The UK currently produces a significant quantity of low-sulphur petroleum coke, the precursor for synthetic graphite, at P66’s Humberside facility. However, the UK has no large scale synthetic graphite production facilities suited to the battery industry, so much of this is exported to Asia.",{"type":583,"attrs":800,"content":801},{"textAlign":49},[802],{"type":708,"attrs":803},{"id":49,"alt":804,"src":805,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":806},"The UK lacks anode and cathode production","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/711d150d70/bm-uk-upstream-q3-2023.png",{},{"type":583,"attrs":808,"content":809},{"textAlign":49},[810],{"text":811,"type":588},"The UK is a part of the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), a coalition of 14 governments including the UK, US, and Australia representing 50% of global GDP. The MSP aims to encourage public and private sector investment into the critical mineral supply chain.",{"type":583,"attrs":813,"content":814},{"textAlign":49},[815],{"text":816,"type":588},"Last month, the UK hosted the latest meeting of the partnership where 17 projects were selected to be driven forward by the MSP. This includes HyProMag, a UK-based company developing a large-scale rare earth magnet recycling plant in Birmingham.",{"type":638,"attrs":818,"content":819},{"level":640,"textAlign":49},[820],{"text":821,"type":588},"Relying on imports ",{"type":583,"attrs":823,"content":824},{"textAlign":49},[825],{"text":826,"type":588},"“There is currently a geopolitical competition ongoing to secure access to battery minerals and the UK, like the US, the EU, Japan and other Western mineral-consuming countries and organisations realise they ultimately need to rely on battery mineral imports,” Bryan Bille, an analyst at Benchmark, said.",{"type":583,"attrs":828,"content":829},{"textAlign":49},[830],{"text":831,"type":588},"This is a reality the UK government recognises.",{"type":583,"attrs":833,"content":834},{"textAlign":49},[835],{"text":836,"type":588},"“We know we need to secure more minerals,” Minister Ghani said. “We need to partner up and collaborate with other countries that share our values. We can’t do this alone.”",{"type":583,"attrs":838,"content":839},{"textAlign":49},[840],{"text":841,"type":588},"To this end, the UK has embarked on a world tour of sorts, strengthening relations and signing agreements with countries it views as allies in the industry.",{"type":583,"attrs":843,"content":844},{"textAlign":49},[845],{"text":846,"type":588},"“This is a new space so we’ve got to make sure that we are working with like minded partners in providing some more certainty and resilience in our supply chains with partners that we can work with,” Ghani said.",{"type":583,"attrs":848,"content":849},{"textAlign":49},[850],{"text":851,"type":588},"Across the pond, the UK has signed the Atlantic Declaration. With this initiative, both parties have launched negotiations aimed at securing a UK-US critical minerals agreement, ensuring battery minerals extracted or processed in the UK count towards the sourcing requirements for the 30D clean vehicle credit in the Inflation Reduction Act. The negotiations are still ongoing at this stage.",{"type":583,"attrs":853,"content":854},{"textAlign":49},[855],{"text":856,"type":588},"“This is a huge differentiator from Europe,” Green Lithium’s Taylor said. “We’ve got the whole of America as a potential customer base, whereas refineries setting up in Europe don’t have that.”",{"type":583,"attrs":858,"content":859},{"textAlign":49},[860],{"text":861,"type":588},"But even to import raw materials, the UK will need to build out anode or cathode production facilities. There are currently no plants in the pipeline, according to Benchmark.",{"type":583,"attrs":863,"content":864},{"textAlign":49},[865],{"text":866,"type":588},"“Despite the presence of anode operations in the UK, these are scattered R&D operations and commercialisation efforts have faced limited investment,” Tony Alderson, an analyst at Benchmark, said. “If anode operations are to capture a moderate global market share, much more investment and development is needed.”",{"type":583,"attrs":868,"content":869},{"textAlign":49},[870],{"text":871,"type":588},"To supply the UK’s 66.9 GWh of pipeline gigafactory capacity will require around 115,000 tonnes of cathode material and 79,000 tonnes of anode material.",{"type":583,"attrs":873,"content":874},{"textAlign":49},[875],{"text":876,"type":588},"Benchmark’s chief executive Simon Moores explained to the UK’s House of Commons in May this year that building out this midstream will help the whole supply chain.",{"type":583,"attrs":878,"content":879},{"textAlign":49},[880],{"text":881,"type":588},"“The key thing is that the UK does not have to just do the deals [for raw materials] itself,” Moores said. “It has to attract the midstream of the supply chain—the big companies that build these battery plants and the cathode and anode plants in the middle—to then give them enough incentive to go and get those raw materials themselves.”",{"type":638,"attrs":883,"content":884},{"level":640,"textAlign":49},[885],{"text":886,"type":588},"Post-Brexit trade restrictions ",{"type":583,"attrs":888,"content":889},{"textAlign":49},[890,892,898],{"text":891,"type":588},"Part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement that came into force in 2020 concerns “",{"text":893,"type":588,"marks":894},"rules of origin",[895],{"type":598,"attrs":896},{"href":897,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":601},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/why-the-uk-auto-industry-is-worried-about-rules-of-origin-regulations-in-eu-trade",{"text":899,"type":588},",” which dictate whether a product is local enough to qualify for a preferential tariff rate, otherwise a tariff has to be paid.",{"type":583,"attrs":901,"content":902},{"textAlign":49},[903],{"text":904,"type":588},"In order to export EVs from the UK to the EU tariff-free (and vice-versa), 40% of the value of the EV must originate from the UK and the EU. From the start of next year, however, this rises to 45% of the EV and 60% of the value of the battery pack. If these requirements are not met, a 10% tariff will need to paid.",{"type":583,"attrs":906,"content":907},{"textAlign":49},[908],{"text":909,"type":588},"With cathode inputs making up around 56% of the costs of a battery cell, the absence of any commercial production in the UK will prove a sticking point for meeting the rules of origin requirements even if sufficient battery production capacity is developed.",{"type":583,"attrs":911,"content":912},{"textAlign":49},[913],{"text":914,"type":588},"The high value of the battery relative to the price of a car means these rules will disproportionately impact EVs compared to petrol and diesel cars. At a time when the UK and EU are trying to accelerate the roll out of EVs, this could increase their costs and make them less attractive to consumers.",{"type":583,"attrs":916,"content":917},{"textAlign":49},[918],{"text":919,"type":588},"Almost three-quarters of cars manufactured in the UK last month were exported according to The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Since January this year, over a third of the UK’s auto exports were EVs.",{"type":583,"attrs":921,"content":922},{"textAlign":49},[923],{"text":924,"type":588},"The EU is the UK’s largest trading partner for cars accounting for 80% of the UK’s exports so far this year. Bilateral trade of EVs with the bloc more than doubled from £7.3 billion in 2020 to £15.3 billion in 2022, according to SMMT.",{"type":583,"attrs":926,"content":927},{"textAlign":49},[928],{"text":929,"type":588},"“Today the industry does not have sufficient supply of locally-sourced batteries and components to meet demand,” Tim Slatter, Ford’s Britain chair, said in a statement. “Tightening the trade rules at this point risks undermining the switch to EVs with tariffs and adding pointless cost to customers wanting to go green.”","Investment in the UK battery supply chain has picked up this year, backed by renewed government attention and a number of company announcements. But can the country scale fast enough to remain relevant on the global stage? The government of prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced a number of critical mineral agreements this year, including […]",[932],{"slug":571,"name":572,"content":933},{"job_title":574,"image":934,"bio":577,"linkedin":578},{"filename":576},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"24cacba6-84e8-4314-8181-64b70aeda458\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[938,941,944,947,950],{"slug":939,"name":940},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":942,"name":943},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":945,"name":946},"geopolitics","Geopolitics",{"slug":948,"name":949},"gigafactories","Battery & Gigafactory",{"slug":951,"name":952},"sustainability","Sustainability","private",{"id":49,"alt":955,"name":955,"focus":955,"title":955,"source":955,"filename":956,"copyright":955,"fieldtype":957,"meta_data":958,"is_external_url":51},"","https://res.cloudinary.com/benchmarkminerals/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1699446873/www-production/UK-gigafactory-capacity-Oct-2023-no-y/UK-gigafactory-capacity-Oct-2023-no-y.png?_i=AA","asset",{"alt":955,"title":955,"source":955,"copyright":955},{"id":49,"alt":955,"name":955,"focus":955,"title":955,"source":955,"filename":960,"copyright":955,"fieldtype":957,"meta_data":961,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/12e5fbaca5/bm-shutterstock-2152798997-1.jpg",{"alt":955,"title":955,"source":955,"copyright":955},"Nov 08, 2023","8th November 2023",[],[],1792753388573]